Islamabad: Two suspects allegedly involved in the killing of Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA) Director Land, Ehsan Elahi, were shot dead in an encounter with Islamabad Police in the jurisdiction of Noon Police Station on Friday night.
According to a police spokesperson, the suspects — identified as Abid Yasin and Abrar Khan, residents of Tamman village — were wanted in connection with the murder of Ehsan Elahi, who was gunned down in Islamabad’s Blue Area earlier this month. Elahi’s associate, Qaiser Ashfaq, a Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) commissioner, was injured in the same attack.
Police said the suspects had been arrested during a checking operation in the Noon area. During the search, they opened fire on the police, but the officers remained unharmed due to timely protective measures. The police team managed to overpower and arrest both men and also recovered weapons from their possession.
During interrogation, the suspects confessed to their involvement in the Blue Area attack, stating that they had targeted the CDA officer with the help of their accomplices. The arrested men were later taken to identify other suspects when their accomplices opened fire on the police convoy near the indicated location.
The spokesperson said the police took cover and called for reinforcements. Once the situation was brought under control, the bodies of the two arrested men were found at the scene, apparently killed by gunfire from their own associates. Their bodies were shifted to the hospital for postmortem examination.
Meanwhile, search operations are continuing to trace and arrest the remaining members of the gang involved in the murder.
Ehsan Elahi, who served as Director (Land) at FGEHA, was shot dead on October 7 in Islamabad’s Blue Area when armed assailants riding a motorcycle opened fire on his vehicle. The incident also left FBR Commissioner Qaiser Ashfaq injured.
It is pertinent to mention here that just days before his murder, Elahi had finalized an agreement between the FGEHA and the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) for the development of Margallah Orchards — a housing scheme jointly initiated by the Housing Authority and the Supreme Court Bar Association. People familiar with the development said that local land mafias were opposed to the involvement of DHA in the project and had been trying to keep it away from the venture.
Police and investigators had termed the killing a targeted attack, reportedly linked to Elahi’s work in land acquisition and housing projects, which had brought him into conflict with powerful land interests. The high-profile killing in a secure area of the capital had sparked widespread concern over law and order and prompted Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to order a high-level investigation.
