7-member JIT formed to probe abduction, murder of SP Tahir Dawar
The Islamabad chief commissioner on Friday formed a seven-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the abduction and murder of Superintendent of Police (SP) Tahir Khan Dawar.
SP Dawar, head of Peshawar police’s rural circle, was kidnapped in Islamabad on October 26 and his body was recovered in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province on Monday.
Editorial: Family of SP Dawar and the police force he represented deserve a full explanation on his murder
According to a notification issued by the chief commissioner's office, the convener of the JIT will be SP Police Investigation, Islamabad. Other members of the team will be:
- Sub-divisional police officer Shalimar Circle, Islamabad
- Deputy superintendent of police Crime Investigation Department, Islamabad
- A representative of the Inter-Services Intelligence
- A representative of the Military Intelligence
- A representative of the Intelligence Bureau
- Investigating officer of the case
The JIT formed on Islamabad police's recommendation will complete its investigation within the time period stipulated in the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997, the notification said.
The directorates general of IB, ISI and MI have been asked to nominate their representatives for the probe body.
A first information report (FIR) of SP Dawar's abduction was registered at Ramna police station on October 28 under Section 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person) of the Pakistan Penal Code. The capital police today added Section 302 (premeditated murder) of PPC and Section 7 of ATA to the FIR.
Nothing was known about Dawar's whereabouts until November 13, when pictures of a body, said to be his, were shared on social media. The body in the photo had a letter written in Pashto placed on the chest. A day later, the Foreign Office confirmed that the body, found by locals in Nangarhar, was indeed of SP Dawar.
Following a two-day delay and hours-long negotiations on Thursday, the Afghan side had reluctantly handed over the body of the officer to his family, sparking a diplomatic row between the two countries.
The body was taken to the city police headquarters in Malik Saad Shaheed police lines, where his funeral prayers were offered. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, Governor Shah Farman, Minister of State for Interior Shahryar Afridi, and police and military officials attended the funeral prayers. The body was later sent to his Hayatabad residence on the outskirts of Peshawar.
