Abid Boxer in custody, court told

LAHORE: In a stark contrast to the stand of PML-N’s former government, the caretaker federal government on Wednesday admitted before the Lahore High Court (LHC) that notorious ‘encounter specialist’ Abid Boxer had been shifted to Pakistan since February this year and is in the custody of authorities.

Earlier this year, media reports surfaced that former police inspector Boxer had been arrested in February in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in connection with a fraud case and brought back to Pakistan with the help of Interpol. He was wanted in over a dozen cases of murder, attempted murder, land-grabbing and others in Punjab.

In March, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Punjab police, however, denied these reports, and told the court Boxer had yet to be extradited to Pakistan. The director FIA had reiterated the Interior Ministry's claim in the LHC during hearing of a petition filed by Boxer's father-in-law seeking protection for his son-in-law that no agency had brought Boxer back to Pakistan.

As hearing commenced on Wednesday, Deputy Attorney General Syed Zafar Abbas Gilani told the court that the former police officer had been shifted to Pakistan from Dubai in February and is in custody of authorities concerned for interrogation.

On it, Justice Anwarul Haq directed the relevant authorities to produce Boxer before the court on July 27.The court also summoned the director FIA in the next hearing of the case.

Boxer’s father-in-law claims that a number of fabricated cases had been registered against his son-in-law on the basis of political victimisation and has sought protection for Boxer. He is afraid that his son-in-law will be killed in a fake encounter.