LAHORE: Former police encounter specialist ex-inspector Abid Boxer’s case took a new turn on Wednesday as Lahore police moved a request to the United Arab Emirates authorities through the Interpol seeking custody of the fugitive.

The city police authorities acted in response to the UAE’s request forwarded to the Pakistan government through the Interpol on Feb 12 to exchange the extradition documents to initiate handover process of Abid Hussain, alias Abid Boxer.

A senior police officer confirmed to Dawn that the department had moved the case to extradite the ex-policeman to initiate a trial against him in the cases lodged with various police stations of the provincial capital.

He said the request was forwarded by the Lahore capital city police officer to the inspector general of Punjab police to send the same to the home department.

The case would route from the interior ministry to the FIA and then Interpol, before reaching the UAE government.

He said the city police had already issued red warrants for the accused, providing record to the Interpol of the cases lodged against Abid Boxer.

He had fled Pakistan in 2008 after the police lodged cases against him under murder, attempted murder, fraud and forgery charges.

The murder case that made Abid to flee Pakistan was lodged against him at Qila Gujjar Singh police station after the death of a retired army brigadier, Naseem Ashraf.

Ashraf’s wife had lodged the case accusing Abid Boxer of killing her husband. She alleged that Abid wanted to grab a cinema owned by the retired brigadier in 2008.

Later, the complainant also died under mysterious circumstances and it was being suspected that she too was killed at the behest of Abid Boxer.

The official further said that after completing the due process of extradition, the police would dispatch a team to the UAE to take the accused in custody.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2018