ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Tuesday successfully apprehended six fugitives in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who were wanted in a range of serious criminal cases, including terrorism, murder, attempted murder, robbery, and fraud.
A spokesperson for the FIA confirmed that the arrests were made through significant operations coordinated by the agency’s National Central Bureau (NCB) Interpol.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Sufyan Ali, Akasha Iqbal, Zohaib Shehzad, Abdul Latif, Muhammad Jaleel, and Muhammad Ramiz Ashraf. They were all wanted by Punjab police for various criminal offenses.
- Sufyan Ali was wanted for a terrorism and attempted murder case, filed at the Wazirabad city police station in 2022 in Sialkot.
- Zohaib Shehzad was involved in a robbery case under the jurisdiction of the Satrah police station.
- Abdul Latif was wanted for murder, in connection with a case registered at the Airport police station in Rahim Yar Khan.
- Muhammad Jaleel, who had been on the run for nine years, was wanted for a robbery case in Dera Ghazi Khan.
- Muhammad Ramiz Ashraf was wanted for attempted murder, with a case filed at the Sadiqabad police station in Rawalpindi.
- Akasha Iqbal was facing charges of fraud, registered in 2023 at the Civil Lines police station in Sialkot.
The FIA confirmed that red notices were issued by the NCB Interpol to facilitate the arrests. These notices allowed for the suspects to be apprehended and transferred from the UAE to Lahore Airport, where they will be handed over to Punjab police.
FIA officials emphasized that the successful arrests were made possible through strong collaboration between Interpol Islamabad and Interpol Abu Dhabi. The NCB Interpol, equipped with modern technology, operates around the clock to track and apprehend fugitives globally.
The FIA reaffirmed its commitment to bringing criminals to justice, utilizing all available resources to apprehend those evading the law. This operation follows the agency’s previous success in April 2023 when Punjab police arrested 10 proclaimed offenders from Gulf states and other countries in relation to various cases in the province.
