On October 27, Mr Tahir Khan Dawar, Superintendent of Police (Peshawar), left his house in Islamabad for a walk but never returned till his body was handed over by Afghan authorities to their Pakistani counterparts at Torkham crossing on Thursday November 15.
Tahir Dawar hails from North Waziristan and “was promoted as acting SP a couple of months ago. He had served as DSP in different areas of Peshawar and also worked in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The Pakistan Provincial Police Services Officers Association expressed concern over Tahir Dawar’s mysterious disappearance, but nobody else has highlighted the issue.”
Since end October Mr Khan’s family and elders of North Waziristan tribal district had demanded that “The government should recover the missing police officer within five days otherwise the residents of North Waziristan district will organise sit-ins protest in Islamabad and Peshawar simultaneously.”
In early November Dawar’s family and elders of Dawar tribe “set a five-day deadline during a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club a few days back. His family members and elders of his Dawar tribe addressed the press conference along with his two daughters, who were holding pictures of their father in their hands and demanding his safe recovery.”
As pointed out by news reports: “The police and the government are facing criticism for failing to recover its officer, who in turn was responsible as a cop for the security of the people. Tahir Dawar had gone to Islamabad on October 26. None of his guards was accompanying him. He had dinner at his home in the federal capital and then went out alone at around 7pm, officials said. His cellphone was found switched off at around 8pm.”
Finally, on Wednesday November 13, news reports broke out about the murder of Mr Dawar inside Afghanistan. “After the news of Mr. Dawar’s death broke out on the evening of 13 November 2018, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul immediately contacted Afghan authorities for confirmation of the news and handing over of the body of the deceased to Pakistan. The Ambassador of Pakistan had asked the Afghan government to immediately send the mortal remains foregoing routine formalities.
According to an ISPR release, “The brutal murder of SP Tahir in Afghanistan is highly condemnable. We have lost a brave police officer. Tahir Dawar’s abduction, move to Afghanistan, murder and follow up behaviour of Afghan authorities raise questions which indicate involvement or resources more than a terrorist organisation in Afghanistan. While investigations by Pakistani authorities are in process, we reiterate that Afghan security forces to cooperate in border fencing and bilateral border security coordination to deny use of Afghan territory against Pakistan.”
