VEHARI: An FIR has been filed against 11 police officers for their involvement in the fake encounter and subsequent murder of Muhammad Asif, three years after the incident. The case was registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) after completing its investigation.
According to the FIA spokesperson, the agency has charged the officers with serious offenses related to the fake encounter. Khalida Parveen, the widow of the deceased, had been seeking justice for her husband’s murder since the incident. She claimed that her husband, Muhammad Asif, was abducted on April 6, 2023, while buying vegetables and was detained without any legal proceedings.
Parveen alleged that the police staged a fake encounter on April 19, 2023, where Asif and another man, Muhammad Shaban, were taken to the jurisdiction of Burewala Model Town police station and fired upon. Asif was shot in the leg by the then-ASI, Mazhar Fareed, and later died from his injuries at Vehari District Headquarters Hospital.
She accused the police of torturing her husband and executing him extrajudicially. Following the investigation, the Multan FIA Anti-Corruption Circle (ACC) registered an FIR under sections including premeditated murder, abetment, and the Torture and Custodial Death Act 2022.
The 11 police officials named in the FIR include SHO Nasir Mahmood, ASI Mazhar Fareed, ASI Muhammad Ali, and several constables. The FIA has called for a thorough investigation into the matter, as the health department failed to provide the necessary audit records worth Rs6 billion.
