ISLAMABAD: A senior Pakistan Air Force (PAF) officer was martyred on Sunday after being shot while trying to save a woman from an alleged abduction attempt, near Shaheen Chowk in Sector F-8, police said.

The capital police later announced that the suspect had been arrested before he fled the city.

The incident occurred within the jurisdiction of the Margalla police station, near Air University and opposite Bahria University.

According to details, Group Captain Asim Tariq was en route to Rawalpindi for an official assignment. When he was passing by, he saw the man forcefully pulling a woman towards his bike. The officer took a U-turn and stopped near the bike.

As he intervened, the woman approached his vehicle, ostensibly for safety. Police said the suspect first argued with the PAF officer, and then opened fire on him.

Suspected killer arrested within nine hours of incident before fleeing from city, says IGP Islamabad

The PAF officer is survived by his widow, a daughter and a son. His sacrifice has drawn widespread tributes across the country with many on social and national media remembering him as a courageous officer who laid down his life while protecting a woman in distress.

IGP’s presser

At a press conference on Sunday night, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad Ali Nasir Rizvi said the suspect was arrested within nine hours of the incident.

He identified him as Saad Abbasi, a native of Abbottabad.

He said the woman and the suspect worked at a cash and carry outlet in G-6 and he sometimes picked and dropped her to the workplace.

After picking her up on Sunday, the suspect wanted to take the woman to a park or some other location.

The woman resisted, at which he had to stop the motorcycle at 9th Avenue.

The IGP said that it had been a challenge to arrest the suspect, and 11 teams were constituted including digital surveillance and Safe City camera teams.

“We observed 275 cameras of the Safe City and a number of private cameras and 137 CDRs. We finally traced the suspect,” he said.

He said 13 raids were conducted within Islamabad and teams were also sent to Lahore, D.I. Khan and other areas.

The police chief said when police reached the suspect he had changed his shirt and was trying to flee from the city through a bus service.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2026