SAHIWAL: A man allegedly strangled to death his wife during a dispute over a property in village 94-D Zakhera in Pakpattan on Friday morning. Dal Varyam Police SHO Rana Haroon told Dawn that a murder case had been registered against the husband, Salam, on the complaint of victim Ansa Bibi’s brother Zainul Abadeen.

Salam, a resident of 94-D, contracted a love marriage with Ansa Bibi of Arifwala City about seven years ago. The couple initially lived in Salam’s village home before moving to Lahore and were living there for the last four years.

They had two daughters Anaya (6) and Areesha (3). Reports said Ansa owned a three-marla house in Gulshan Ali Colony of Sahiwal city, which became a source of contention between the couple. It claimed that two days ago, they returned to the village, where a quarrel broke out between the couple over the property.

The FIR said that at around 10am on Friday, Salam pressed a pillow against Ansa’s face and strangled her to death. After the incident, he called his brother-in-law, Tahir Iqbal of Arifwala, confessing to the crime and asking him to collect the body. Salam fled the scene soon after.

The Dal Varyam Police were informed which collected the body, conducted forensic procedures and shifted it to the Pakpattan DHQ Hospital for autopsy.

DPO Javed Chadhar said that raids were being carried out at multiple locations to arrest accused Salam.

ENCOUNTER: An alleged outlaw was killed in an encounter with the Crime Control Department (CCD), while two of his accomplices managed to escape near village 99/6-R in Pakpattan late Thursday night.

Police claimed that acting on a complaint on the police helpline about three dacoits stealing a buffalo from village 138/9-L Adnan Kee Dhari, CCD personnel intercepted the suspects on a side road along the Lower Bari Doab Canal.

Police claimed that the suspects opened fire on the police team, which was retaliated. Police claimed that after the shootout, officials found the body of one outlaw, later identified as Zawar alias Zawari, a resident of Noor Shah.

A buffalo and a 30-bore pistol were also recovered from the scene, police said.

Police claimed that suspect Zawari was a notorious cattle thief operating in rural areas around the Noor Shah area. A case had also been registered against the two absconding suspects and raids were being conducted for their arrest, the police said.

KIDNAPPED: Two unidentified women allegedly kidnapped an eight-month-old baby girl from the Hamid Town area on Thursday afternoon. According to the police, two women approached Shamim Bibi, the wife of Naveed Shahzad, and offered her a bank loan on easy installments. She invited them inside and told them that her husband would return soon and they could discuss the matter further.

Meanwhile, Shamim began her Asar prayer and the two women remained seated. Taking advantage of the situation, police said, they slipped away taking her infant daughter Noor Fatima with them.

The Ghala Mandi police registered a case against the suspects on the complaint of Naveed Shahzad. However, police have so far failed to trace either the women or the kidnapped child.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2025