Abid Boxer gets bail in 10 cases

LAHORE: Mystery over notorious 'encounter specialist' Abid Boxer’s presence in the country took a dramatic twist on Friday after he appeared freely before courts to seek interim pre-arrest bails in different cases against a stark claim of government that he was shifted to Pakistan in February and is in the custody of authorities.

The caretaker federal government on July 18 admitted before the Lahore High Court (LHC) that Abid Boxer had been shifted to Pakistan in February and is in the custody of the authorities. Earlier this year, media reports surfaced that Abid 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 Abid had yet to be extradited to Pakistan. However, the former Punjab Police inspector, Abid Boxer, appeared before Additional District and Sessions Judge Rehmat Ali on Friday along with his attorney following which his interim bail was approved.

Abid's bail was approved in a total of 10 cases, including three murder and two robbery cases. Talking to The News, Boxer’s counsel Azhr Latif said his client has sought bail in three cases each from the courts of Samina Ijaz Cheema and Shahid Munir respectively. The courts of Additional Sessions Judges Sajawal Khan and Arshad Iqbal granted him bail in one case each. The court of Farhan Shakoor gave him bail in two cases.

It is yet to be clear how Abid turned up before courts freely if he had been brought to Pakistan through Interpol and was wanted in a dozen cases. When asked, his lawyer said his client is in a better position to answer this question himself. He received bail after submitting surety bonds worth Rs 100,000 for each case. The judge ordered the police not to arrest him until August 4. Talking to the media outside the court, Abid Boxer said he is extremely happy on returning to the country after 11 years. He said he would make surprising revelations soon with undeniable proof. Earning his nickname because he joined the police force on sports quota, Abid had a reputation for his ruthless modus operandi and operating above the law during the 1990s. He was later charged with various extrajudicial killings and corruption and was sacked. Since then, he has been a fugitive and one of the country's most-wanted criminals.