Contractor accused of running over teen apprentice killed in police encounter in Pakistan

Tauqeer Nazir, the contractor accused of chasing down and fatally running over his 15-year-old apprentice in Multan, was reportedly killed on Wednesday, October 21, during an armed shootout with the Crime Control Department (CCD) near Bahawalpur shortly after escaping police custody, law enforcement officials said.

How did Bahawalpur shootout unfold following Nazir's escape?

According to official statements from the Punjab Police and the CCD, security units intercepted Nazir and an associate traveling together on a motorcycle near Bahawalpur’s Northern Bypass following alerts that the murder suspect had slipped out of police custody in neighboring Multan.

Investigators stated that upon being challenged by approaching law enforcement teams, the suspects opened fire, initiating an exchange of gunfire. According to the police report, Nazir was fatally struck during the shootout by bullets discharged by his own fleeing accomplice, who abandoned the scene and escaped into the surrounding area under cover of gunfire. Authorities in Bahawalpur established extensive cordons and security checkpoints across the district to capture the fugitive associate, while Multan police administration launched a high-level inquiry into the security lapses that enabled Nazir to escape detention.

What led to nationwide outrage surrounding Waseem Abbas murder case?

The encounter marks a dramatic conclusion to an incident that provoked intense public outrage across Pakistan over the exploitation and abuse of child laborers. Nazir had been arrested earlier in Multan after closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage captured him pursuing his 15-year-old apprentice, an orphaned youth named Waseem Abbas, in an automobile inside the Royal Orchard residential community.

Abbas, who had been residing in a welfare facility and seminary before being placed with Nazir to learn electrical wiring, had fled the work site following repeated physical mistreatment and grueling conditions.

The security footage showed Abbas running down a residential street shouting for help before being rammed from behind by the speeding car, which violently crushed him against an iron residential gate, inflicting fatal head injuries.

Following the public circulation of the video, Nazir was brought before a local judicial magistrate in Multan, where the court granted a four-day physical remand. During the court appearance, an enraged crowd of practicing attorneys breached security lines and physically assaulted Nazir in the courthouse corridor before police officers pulled him to safety.

Senior Punjab Police officials have demanded an immediate report on the custodial lapse in Multan, while community organizations and child welfare advocates have renewed demands for binding legal safeguards governing vocational apprenticeships for vulnerable minors.