Islamabad (Web Desk): An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad on Monday ordered 14-day judicial custody of suspect Saad Abbasi to facilitate an identification parade in the murder investigation of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Group Captain Asim Tariq.
The case, registered by Islamabad Police, came before ATC Judge Abual Hasanat Mohammad Zulqarnain.
According to police, Group Captain Asim Tariq was martyred on Sunday after courageously intervening to protect a woman from an alleged abduction attempt on Islamabad's 9th Avenue.
Police said the PAF officer was driving along the road when he noticed a woman stepping away from a motorcycle as its rider forcefully held onto her hand. In an effort to help, he stopped his vehicle near the scene, allowing the woman to move to the opposite side of his car.
The suspect, later identified as Saad Abbasi, reportedly confronted the officer and, after a heated exchange, opened fire. Group Captain Tariq later succumbed to his injuries, while the attacker escaped.
During Monday's proceedings, the investigating officer requested the court to place the accused in judicial custody so an identification parade could be conducted.
"There are also two eyewitnesses in the case," prosecutor Raja Naveed informed the court.
Addressing the suspect, Judge Zulqarnain asked, "Why did you do this?"
Abbasi replied, "I was with a girl, and a man came and was disturbing us."
The judge responded, "Disturbing you? Were you doing something good that he disturbed you?"
After hearing the arguments, the court approved a 14-day judicial remand for the accused to complete the identification process and directed authorities to produce him again before the court on July 20.
Speaking at a press conference a day earlier, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ali Nasir Rizvi said the suspect had been arrested through a carefully coordinated operation that combined digital surveillance with conventional intelligence gathering.
The police chief revealed that the accused had previously picked up the woman from her residence on two occasions. On the day of the incident, the two reportedly argued near Shaheen Chowk after the suspect insisted she accompany him to a park or another location instead of going to work, but she repeatedly refused.
IGP Rizvi added that the woman had known the suspect for only a few days and was unaware of where he lived.
To crack the high-profile case, Islamabad Police constituted 11 specialised investigation teams to trace the suspect.
The investigation gained momentum after officers conducted an extensive examination of digital evidence, reviewing footage from 275 Safe City and privately installed CCTV cameras, along with recordings collected from 137 digital video recorders (DVRs).