2 suspects in fatal attacks on Lahore cops killed in Muridke fire exchange, say police

AI Summary

Two suspects involved in fatal attacks on Lahore police were killed in a firefight during a police operation in Muridke. The suspects were identified as a father-son duo responsible for shooting three police officials and holding a family hostage before being located using thermal drones.

LAHORE: Two men who allegedly shot dead three police officials in Lahore on Thursday were killed during an exchange of fire with law enforcers at a house in Muridke where they had held a family hostage, police sources told Dawn. Police officials identified the suspects as a father-son duo, Fayyaz Butt and Rehan Butt, saying that they were killed in a joint operation by Lahore police, counter-terrrorism department (CTD) personnel, Sheikhpura police and Elite Force personnel on Friday morning after an hours-long chase from Lahore to Muridke. The suspects held the driver of a Lahore Waste Management Company vehicle at gunpoint and forced him to keep on driving to reach Muridke, the officials said. According to police, they allegedly shot dead two policemen in Lahore’s Badami Bagh area and one at Yateem Khana Chowk, Multan Road, besides injuring three on Thursday night. Initial police inquiries showed that the first armed attack was carried out by Rehan and his accomplices in Badami Bagh. The martyred officials were identified as Sub-Inspector (SI) Adeel Ashiq and Constable Asad. An hour later, the suspects allegedly targeted policemen deployed at the headquarters of the banned Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) on Multan Road and opened indiscriminate firing. On Friday, a senior official who coordinated the joint operation against the suspects told Dawn a third suspect, identified as Tariq, managed to flee. His last location was reported as Bagh in Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK). AJK police and the law enforcement agencies from Punjab were working to trace and arrest him, he said. About Friday’s operation, he said Fayyaz and Rehan were traced to a seminary in Muridke. Lawenforcers surrounded it after reaching the site while the seminary’s management claimed that the two were not present there. To verify the claim, police seized the seminary’s DVR, but found that the cameras were not working, he said, adding that the DVR was sent to Lahore for forensic analysis. Meanwhile, law enforcers received information that the suspects had gone toward River Ravi and were hiding in a forest, the official said. On the directions of IG police Punjab Abdul Kareem, the police used thermal drones to trace the suspects in the forest, he said, adding that the suspects moved to a densely populated area as they realised they were being traced. “They barged into a house, took the family hostage and threatened to kill them,” he said, adding that the suspects opened fire on the police personnel when they reached there. During the exchange of fire, Rehan and Fayyaz were killed, he said. He said Tariq had separated from them and fled to AJK during the chase. After Thursday’s attack, a police official had told Dawn that the incidents seemed to be an act of revenge. Rehan’s brother, Faizan Butt, was allegedly killed in an encounter with a CTD team, which reportedly included SI Adeel, a few years back, the official said. Faizan was reportedly working for the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and he was involved in the killing of some police officials, the police official said. He added that SI Adeel had told police higher-ups in 2024 that he was receiving life threats from Rehan. Following his complaint, a first information report was registered against Rehan in November 2024 with Shafiqabad police. According to the FIR, Adeel had alleged that he had received a WhatsApp call from Rehan, who had threatened to kill him.