SAHIWAL: Two suspects were killed in an alleged encounter with the Crime Control Department (CCD) near Yousafwala during the early hours of Dawn.

The suspects were identified as Khalil Arif and Amir Sohail, both belonging to Okara.

The CCD reported that both the deceased were accomplices of Abdur Rasheed, a suspect who was killed in a similar encounter the other day and they were a part of a kidnapping gang. Police claimed they were involved in the attempted kidnapping of a young man outside Sahiwal Teaching Hospital yesterday morning. When the victim resisted, the suspects fled in two separate cars.

A CCD team, patrolling the area, responded to the emergency call and intercepted the vehicles.

During the initial encounter, Abdur Rasheed was killed but his two accomplices (Khalil and Amir) managed to escape in the second car. Police had registered a case against the two unidentified individuals, charging them with multiple offenses, including attempted murder.

The CCD now claims that the remaining two outlaws were killed in another encounter.

According to the police, the outlaws opened fire first and the officers retaliated, killing Khalil and Amir while two others fled. The bodies of the deceased were shifted to Sahiwal Teaching Hospital for post-mortem.

The police also noted that one of the deceased had recently been released from the prison after completing his jail term. Police claimed, as usual, that both the suspects were killed by the firing of their own accomplices.

ACQUITTED: Sahiwal anti-terrorism court special judge Ziaullah Khan acquitted six men who were accused of kidnapping a sixth-grade student, Muhammad Ziyan, for ransom on April 7, 2025.

The kidnappers had allegedly demanded Rs50m for the boy’s release. The judge’s decision was based on the fact that both witnesses in the case had withdrawn their statements.

Ziyan was abducted from Makkah Madina Town, Phase I, District Okara. His father, Zeeshan Ali, filed a kidnap case with the police.

The FIR named two witnesses, Abdul Malik and Malik Saqib. During the investigation, police and the family identified six people involved in the incident: Taskeen, Shaban, Furrukh Mumtaz, Muhammad Arshad, Muhammad Mahtab, and Hussnain Rajo.

Taskeen was from Okara while the others were from Pakpattan. It was revealed that two of the accused, Farukh Mumtaz and Muhammad Mahtab, hit a separate deal with Ziyan’s family, allegedly took Rs2m and disclosed where the boy was being held.

Police then raided the location and recovered Ziyan. Later, both witnesses, Abdul Malik and Malik Saqib, withdrew their statements before the judge, leading to the acquittal of all six accused.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2025