ISLAMABAD: Two more under-custody handcuffed suspects were killed by their accomplices in an alleged encounter in the federal capital on Sunday, police said.

The police public relations branch said the suspects, Afghan nationals, were arrested in connection with an incident in which a 23-year-old woman was injured while resisting a gang rape attempt by robbers in a park on October 12.

It claimed that during interrogation, the suspects disclosed their hideout in Rawal Town and offered their assistance for the recovery of looted items and arrest of their accomplices.

In response, a police team took the handcuffed suspects to a junkyard in Rawal Town. However, four persons armed with weapons and hiding in a wooded area opened firing at the police team with intention to set free the suspects.

During the firing, the suspects sustained bullet injuries, while the police team remained unhurt due to the precautionary measures, and the attackers managed to escape. The injured were shifted to hospital where they died.

Sources in the police said the suspects were arrested in connection with the case registered on October 12 at the Secretariat police station under sections 394, 375-A and 511 of Pakistan Penal Code in response to a complaint lodged by the woman.

Three armed robbers intercepted the woman at Ankara Park where she was walking and held her at gunpoint. The robbers snatched her mobile phone and tried to drag her into a nearby wooded area. However, she resisted the attempt, leading to a physical altercation. The robbers assaulted her, causing multiple injuries, including wounds to her face, before fleeing.

The killing of the two suspects in alleged encounters increased the number of such deaths to seven in the current year and the encounters to 62. In these encounters, 53 suspects were also injured.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2026