Six absconders brought back from UAE through Interpol

GUJRAT / TOBA TEK SINGH: Six suspects wanted in different criminal cases in Punjab have been repatriated from the United Arab Emirates through Interpol, according to police officials.

A senior official of the Gujranwala Crime Control Department said the men were brought to Pakistan and then handed over to police in the districts where they were wanted.

He said those returned included Muhammad Rafique, who was wanted in a murder case and was handed over to Tatley Aali police in Gujranwala, and Umar Hayat, who was wanted in a kidnapping case and was handed over to Saddar Wazirabad police.

The official added that Azam and Faisal Imran, both wanted in murder cases, were handed over to Faisalabad police, while Muhammad Safeer, also wanted in a murder case, was handed over to Khushab police.

According to the official, all of the repatriated suspects had earlier been declared proclaimed offenders by police in their respective districts. After that, their red warrants were issued through the Federal Investigation Agency.

A spokesperson for the Crime Control Department said the repatriation was made possible with the cooperation of international law enforcement agencies.

Faisalabad police report separate arrest

In a separate development, Faisalabad’s Jhang Bazar police said they had also secured the arrest of a proclaimed offender in a murder case from the UAE through a red warrant.

A police spokesperson identified the suspect as Firdoul Azam of Hangu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The spokesperson said the accused had shot dead shoe trader Akbar Khan on Dec 6, 2019, over old litigation between their families that was under way in Hangu courts.

Police said the suspect had fled abroad after the killing eight years ago. According to the spokesperson, a police team led by Inspector Asim Mukhtar travelled to the UAE to arrest him, and the suspect was handed over to the officer by the Interpol team.

The Dawn report listed six repatriated suspects by name, but named five individuals in that account: Muhammad Rafique, Umar Hayat, Azam, Faisal Imran and Muhammad Safeer. In the same report, Faisalabad police separately said they had arrested proclaimed offender Firdoul Azam from the UAE through a red warrant.

The repatriations and arrest were described by police as part of efforts to bring back proclaimed offenders who had left the country after being wanted in serious criminal cases.