Inspector General (IG) Islamabad Police Ali Nasir Rizvi on Sunday confirmed the arrest of Saad Abbasi, the prime suspect in the murder of Group Captain Asim Tariq Shaheed.
Addressing a press conference, the IG said Islamabad Police arrested the suspect within nine hours of the incident through swift action and the use of modern investigative techniques.
He said the murder was treated as a top priority, with investigators launching an immediate probe after the incident. Rizvi said the swift investigation led to the arrest of the suspect within hours, reaffirming the police’s commitment to ensuring those responsible are brought to justice.
The IG stated that the accused, Muhammad Saad Abbasi, and a woman named Nimra had both worked at a cash-and-carry store in Melody. According to the investigation, they had met twice before. On the day of the incident, the accused wanted to take the woman to a park or another location. When she refused, he attempted to force her to go with him.
The IG said that martyred Group Captain Asim Tariq witnessed the situation, turned his car around, parked it, and intervened to stop the accused. The woman then moved toward the Group Captain’s car. At that point, the accused, who was riding a motorcycle, turned back and opened fire on the Group Captain with a pistol.
The IG further said that the woman had not been working at the store for the previous ten days. He added that the accused appeared to be acting out of an obsessive and violent motive, attempting to force the woman to accompany him.
To apprehend the suspect, the police formed 11 investigation teams. Officers reviewed footage from 275 Safe City cameras and used AI-assisted camera analysis and other technological tools to trace the accused’s movements.
According to the IG, the suspect is a resident of Abbottabad. At the time of his arrest in Islamabad, he had purchased a Skyways bus ticket and had also switched off his mobile data in an apparent attempt to evade detection. The IG said that all 11 police teams remained in constant coordination throughout the operation. Muhammad Saad Abbasi was arrested within nine hours of the incident. He noted that analysing footage from a single camera can take up to three hours, but the investigation was accelerated through the use of modern AI and other investigative technologies.
Meanwhile, sources revealed that the accused is a resident of Khanna Road, falling within the jurisdiction of Khanna Police Station. The accused is 20 years old and has completed his matriculation education. He was also reportedly working as a salesman at an electronics shop.
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