Tauqeer Nazir, accused of running over 15-year-old orphan Waseem Abbas in Multan, was killed in a reported exchange of fire with the Crime Control Department in Bahawalpur after allegedly escaping police custody. His death closes one chapter of a case that has angered much of the country over the past few days. It also leaves hard questions, chief among them how a murder suspect on physical remand managed to get away from police in the first place.

Waseem Abbas was a resident of Muzaffargarh who lived in an NGO-run orphanage in Multan. Police said he was sent to a private housing society on October 11 to learn electrical work, returned to the orphanage on October 15 where he met his friends, and went back to work with Tauqeer on the morning of October 17. The killing took place between October 19 and 20 in Royal Orchard Housing Society, Multan. According to the FIR, Waseem fled into a neighbouring street to escape alleged abuse, and the suspects pursued him in a Honda vehicle. Police registered a murder case under Sections 302 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code and seized the vehicle. CCTV footage of the killing spread on social media and caused massive public outrage, with demands for exemplary punishment.

Police named Tauqeer Nazir and Amjad Ali in the case. Tauqeer was arrested, while Amjad allegedly escaped. Tauqeer was presented before Judicial Magistrate Saadia Aslam, who granted him four days of physical remand. The court appearance itself became a story. Lawyers assaulted Tauqeer outside the courtroom despite the presence of police, and a video of the assault went viral on social media. The scene showed how strongly public anger had built up by then, and how exposed a suspect in custody can be.

Tauqeer then escaped from the custody of DHA Police Station in Multan while on his four-day remand. A spokesperson said he got away on Tuesday night. Officials said he was being transported in police custody in Multan when a vehicle tyre reportedly went flat, giving him the chance to flee. The reports reviewed do not give a full account of how he slipped away or how many officers were escorting him, and that gap is likely to draw attention in the days ahead.

The end came in Bahawalpur. CCD District Officer Irfan Akbar said a team tried to stop two motorcycle riders near the Northern Bypass, and Tauqeer was killed in a reported exchange of fire. The accounts reviewed do not say what happened to the second rider. His body was shifted to Nishtar Hospital under police supervision, then taken to his native Muzaffargarh district, where he was buried. Police encounters of this kind are often questioned in Pakistan, and the CCD’s account has not been independently verified. The sources reviewed do not mention any inquiry into the escape or the shooting. Tauqeer’s death also means he will never face trial, so a court will not test the allegations against him.

Waseem’s story added to the public grief. His uncle, Jafar Hussain, said the boy’s father had died nine years ago and that Waseem was later admitted to the orphanage by his grandfather and uncle. His maternal grandfather said he enrolled the boy there so he could get an education instead of struggling on the streets. Residents said Waseem and his brother were admitted after their mother remarried following their father’s death, and his sister had reportedly stayed at the orphanage for several months. Jafar Hussain said Tauqeer deliberately killed his nephew. A police official offered a more cautious early view, saying it looked as though the boy had been hit by the car and that the investigation would have to establish why the teenager had fled from the contractor. He also said the orphanage had received no previous complaints against Tauqeer.

The case has also put the orphanage itself under scrutiny. According to Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) Punjab chairperson Sarah Ahmad, the NGO-run orphanage was unregistered. Ahmad said it had applied for registration but showed serious negligence by sending the teenager to work with an electrician. Records show 122 children were living there despite its unregistered status. Ahmad said the boy was handed to a contractor without proper safety and supervision, and that this cost him his life.

Reports differ on exactly what happened to the orphanage’s registration. Samaa reports that the Child Protection Bureau has cancelled the registration of Idara Al-Khuda in Multan. Other outlets say the Bureau refused to register it, and Minute Mirror reports that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz rejected the registration application. The wording differs, but all the reports describe the same outcome: the orphanage has been denied official standing.

Ahmad urged Punjab police to take legal action against the orphanage owner and hold those responsible accountable. She also asked the Punjab Charities Commission to urgently review the orphanage’s registration and licence and cancel it where the law allows. She said minimum care standards had already been issued for all orphanages in Punjab, and that no institution could be allowed to neglect its duty of care. Several orphanage staff members were detained for questioning.

With the main suspect dead, attention shifts to the others. Police say Amjad, the second accused named in the murder case, remains at large. The orphanage owner faces calls for legal action, and the family has demanded justice. Many will also ask whether the wider system for protecting children in residential care is strong enough, given that 122 children were living in an institution that had no registration.

For now, the case has produced a dead teenager, a dead suspect and an orphanage stripped of its status. The questions about the escape, the encounter and the oversight of orphanages have yet to be answered.

Compiled by the Weekly PK Staff Desk.