KARACHI: A police officer who sustained bullet wounds during a “poorly planned” raid on the house of Armaghan, the main suspect in the Mustafa Amir murder case, died during treatment at a hospital on Monday.

South DIG Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that DSP Ahsan Zulfiqar was injured during a raid jointly carried out by the Anti-Violent Crime Cell and the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) to arrest the main accused, Armaghan Qureshi, at his home located on Khayaban-i-Momin in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) on Feb 8, 2025.

He recalled that Zulfiqar was shot at and injured in firing allegedly carried out by Armaghan. “The injured DSP Ahsan Zulfiqar, who had been fighting for his life for several months, expired today,” said the DIG.

The wounded officer had been receiving treatment at a private hospital. His condition deteriorated as an infection spread through his wounds, and he was re-admitted to the hospital.

Police sources told Dawn that the raid was poorly planned by senior officers. Local police were not informed beforehand and arrived to assist when the firing started.

Mustafa Amir, 23, was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by his friends — Armaghan and Sheraz alias Shavez Bukhari — in Karachi’s DHA on Jan 6, 2025. According to the police, the accused stuffed Amir’s body in the trunk of his car and set it on fire in the Hub area of Balochistan.

Funeral prayers

Funeral prayers of the martyred DSP were held at Rehmania Masjid on Tariq Road in PECHS, attended by Sindh Inspector General of Police, Addl. IGP Karachi and other senior officers. He was laid to rest in a local graveyard.

“The police department appreciates the excellent performance, professional capabilities and courage and bravery of DSP Ahsan Zulfiqar,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.

In the Armaghan case, the DSP had demonstrated his professional capabilities and was also injured in the line of duty.

The DSP was the son of a senior police officer, Zulfiqar Hussain Shah. The slain officer left behind a widow, two daughters and one son.

‘A gentle, dedicated officer’

Raja Umer Khattab, a retired Counter-Terrorism Department officer, told Dawn that the slain DSP was his batchmate as they both joined the police force in 1990.

Ahsan Zulfiqar had served as Station House Officer (SHO) in different police stations, particularly in the South district and was widely believed to be a SHO of good character, he said.

He was retired, but the police force continued to bear the cost of his treatment. He was initially discharged from the hospital, but when his health deteriorated at home, he was again admitted, where he expired today, he added.

“He was a gentle, compassionate and excellent officer as well as a fine human being,” concluded Mr Khattab.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2026