Imran Khan orders inquiry into police officer's murder

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday ordered an immediate inquiry into the murder of a police officer who was allegedly kidnapped in Islamabad and was later killed in Afghanistan.

Khan made the announcement on his Twitter account, saying that he followed the "shocking tragedy" of the murder of Superintendent of Police Tahir Khan Dawar who was chief of Peshawar police's rural circle.

The Prime Minister ordered the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province government to coordinate with Islamabad police in holding an inquiry immediately.

According to reports and officials, Dawar was kidnapped in Islamabad on October 26 and his body was found in Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Tuesday.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday confirmed that the tortured body found in Nangarhar was certainly that of Dawar, a police officer renowned for his armed encounters with militants.

According to Dawn online, the slain officer's body had been handed over to Pakistani authorities in Afghanistan on Thursday, which would be transported to Peshawar for the funeral.

Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor condemned "the brutal murder" of "a brave police officer", and suspected the involvement of an entity "more than a terrorist organisation".

No group has claimed the incident yet.

The DG ISPR also urged "Afghan security forces to cooperate in border fencing" to "deny use of Afghan territory against Pakistan".

--IANS

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