GUJAR KHAN: Rescue 1122 divers recovered the bodies of two sisters while the search for their brother was under way in a canal near the Jhelum River, after their father allegedly threw all three children into the canal.

The father has been arrested by Mangla police of Jhelum district.

According to District Police Officer (DPO) Jhelum Shafiq Chaudhry, the mother reported to police that she had estranged relations with her husband and was living with her children at her parents’ house.

According to her, on Wednesday evening, she was with her brother on Mangla Road when her husband turned up and took their children with him.

The suspect, a resident of Dhoke Subedar area of Jhelum district, confessed to the DPO after his wife raised an alarm over her three children going missing.

According to DPO Chaudhry, the suspect and his wife had estranged relations and on Tuesday night he took his three children on the pretext of taking them on a brief trip to a park and returning them afterwards. However, the children did not return.

The DPO said a report about the children going missing or being kidnapped was lodged with police. After registration of an FIR under Section 363 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), Mangla police launched an investigation and arrested Zeeshan Farooq Ashraf.

According to the DPO, the accused revealed to police that he had thrown all three children into the canal near the Mangla Dam area of Mirpur district.

According to the police officer, a search operation in the area was started with the cooperation of Rescue 1122 Mirpur on Wednesday afternoon.

Sardar Najam Sadozai, District Emergency Officer (DEO) Rescue 1122, told Dawn on Thursday that the bodies of Fajar Zeeshan and Noor Fatima were retrieved by divers combing the canal near Khari Sharif.

However, on Thursday evening, Mr Najam said the divers could not spot the body of Umar Zeeshan and the operation was being suspended.

On the other hand, SP Investigation Jhelum Mr Sikandar told Dawn that after the recovery of the bodies of the two children, police had ascertained the offence allegedly committed by the accused. According to the SP Investigation Jhelum, the accused would be produced before a court along with concrete evidence.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2026