islamabad   -  A man who allegedly shot and injured a man for refusing to lend him money and later made two children including a two-month-old baby hostage in a house in Jillani Town at Bhara Kahu Sunday last was arrested in a heroic act by superintendent of police of Islamabad police.

The whole operation was led and completed successfully by SSP Operations Islamabad. 

Qamar, 31, of Murree, was booked under sections 324, 364A and 342. A 30 bore pistol was also recovered from him by the investigators of Police Station (PS) Bhara Kahu.

A court of law on Monday also granted the investigators four-day remand of accused.

All the leading police officers of Islamabad police including SSP Operations Dr Syed Mustafa Tanweer, acting SP City Hamza Humayun and DSP CIA Hakam Khan along with heavy contingent of police including Elite Force commandos took part in seemingly a very difficult rescue operation against the gunman abducting and confining two minor children in a house. 

The capital police chief Qazi Jamil ur Rehman has not only appreciated the efforts of the police team but also announced awarding cash prizes to the team taking part in the rescue operation.

Life in Dhoke Jillani, a suburb of capital, was going normal when all of a sudden Qamar Shakoor disturbed the normalcy by shooting at and injuring a man namely Muhammad Fayyaz near Zakir Grocery Store. Locals present around tried to capture the gunman who again started indiscriminate firing and stormed into house of Muhammad Zaheer where he took two little girls (aged 2 months and 3 years) and went to kitchen where he confined the toddlers. 

Area people alerted police on which cops of capital police led by SSP Operations Dr Syed Mustafa Tanweer and Acting SP City Hamza Humayun rushed to the scene and cordoned off the area. 

A frantic scene could be witnessed with everyone holding their breath fearing that the abductee may harm the children any time. The top cops of Islamabad police tried their level best to engage the abductor in negotiations to get the children released but in vain.

Qamar, the abductor, raised demands of summoning anchor persons and other journalists of leading TV channels/newspapers to surrender before police as he was scared of being shot dead by police in an encounter.

However, SSP Operations Dr Syed Mustafa Tanweer invited some influentials of the area to hold talks with the gunman and to make him agree to surrender before police with an assurance that he would not be killed but handcuffed.

During the entire episode, a large number of area people gathered at the site and requested Qamar to surrender before police but the gunman was not listening to anybody and was screaming as if he was drugged. 

Finally, SP Hamza Humayun managed to jump inside kitchen from a small window and overwhelmed the kidnapper.

“Oh my God, it was a very shocking moment for the whole police force when SP Hamza Humayun did a bravo act by jumping inside the kitchen to rescue the children from the gunman,” DSP CIA Hakam Khan, who was taking part in the hours long operation said. 

He said though SP Hamza was unarmed and was not wearing bulletproof vest yet he did a bravo act to save lives of two innocent children by putting his own life in danger, he said. DSP Hakam Khan said, “The Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan should award SP Hamza Humayun with Quaid e Azam Police Medal for his bravery and excellent performance.”

Similarly, SSP Operations Islamabad Dr Syed Mustafa Tanweer stated, “It was like a nightmare. But Allah Almighty helped out the cops and they got the gunman without allowing him to harm the two children in his captivity.” 

Another police officer, who was also part of capital police’s most sensitive operation, said it seemed the gunman was drugged and was not in his senses. 

He said Qamar Shakoor, who hails from Murree, was involved in a series of crimes ranging from murder, attempted murder and dacoities. 

He was out on bail from Adiala Jail after spending an eight-year imprisonment in a murder case registered with PS Shehzad Town.

“Qamar entered in the world of crime due to unemployment and negative behaviour of his siblings. His parents had passed away,” he said while sharing the history of gunman who had put the whole capital police and other law enforcement agencies on toes by committing heinous crime of confining two toddlers in their house on gunpoint.

He further shared Qamar also started using ice and other drugs to get out of frustration and also joined some powerful land mafia in Rawat area. “He was being paid Rs20,000 as wage by the land mafia to grab land in twin cities,” the police officer mentioned.

He said Qamar was also involved in armed dacoities in Murree some years ago.

“It was unemployment which forced him to pick gun and to commit crime,” the police officer said.

“Qamar was under the influence of ice at the time of crime in Dhoke Jillani,” he disclosed. He said the cops of Islamabad police kept engaging the gunman in negotiations for more than four hours in order to lessen the influence of drugs he had allegedly taken.

In a First Information Report, lodged by PS Bhara Kahu, the complainant Muhammad Sheraz stated he along with his family was coming from market after shopping when Qamar intercepted him on gunpoint and started objecting as to why he (Sheraz) did not lend him Rs5,000. He added Qamar started firing and injured his elder brother Muhammad Fayyaz and took refuge in a nearby house where he also made two toddlers hostage at gunpoint.

Islamabad police, led by SSP Operations Dr Syed Mustafa Tanweer, conducted a rescue operation and held the gunman besides saving the two toddlers. A police team produced the accused before a court of law and obtained his physical remand for four days for further investigation.