GUJRAT: A local social media activist and his nephew were gunned down by unidentified armed men near their native Seera village on Qadirabad Road in Phalia police precincts, Mandi Bahauddin district, on Wednesday.

As per police sources, Zafar Iqbal Gondal (48) and his nephew Husnain Gondal (30), both residents of Seera village, were returning home after attending a court hearing at Phalia. When their car reached near the village, armed men opened fire on the vehicle.

As a result, both Zafar and Hussain received multiple bullets and died on the spot, whereas the car plunged into a roadside ditch.

On being informed of the double murder, police and Punjab Forensic Science Agency teams reached the scene and collected evidence.

The bodies were shifted to the Phalia THQ Hospital. The doctors conducted autopsy and handed over the bodies to the families.

Zafar Gondal was a TikToker and a local social media activist, who would often criticise his opponents and area politicians in his TikTok videos.

Taking notice of the double murder, IGP Rao Abdul Kareem has sought a report from Gujranwala regional police officer and directed the police concerned to trace and arrest the suspects soon.

A spokesman for Mandi Bahauddin police says that teams have been formed to arrest the suspects involved in the incident.

Arrested: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) claimed to have arrested a wanted “human trafficker”, listed in its red book, during a crackdown on Wednesday.

An FIA official says the suspect, Arshad of Bhalwal, Sargodha district, whose name is on the 2025 red book’s page 96, has been arrested.

The official adds that the suspect was wanted by the FIA’s Gujrat circle in several cases, including case No 364/24, registered on Nov 14, 2024, under Section 17/22 of the Emigration Ordinance (EO), 1979, for allegedly extorting Rs3.2m from the complainant on the pretext of sending his son to Italy.

Similarly, as per case No 365/24, also registered on Nov 14, 2024, under Section 17/22 of EO, 1979, the suspect allegedly extorted Rs2m from the complainant on the pretext of sending him to Italy.

The FIA has started interrogating the suspect.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2026