Azma Bukhari provides harrowing account of Wasim Abbas’ death
Punjab’s Information Minister Azma Bukhari said on X that the killing of 15‑year‑old orphan Wasim Abbas in Multan on October 19 has shocked the province. She called the incident “a tragic event that shakes every sensitive heart” and warned that women and children are a “red line” for Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, adding that such crimes will not be tolerated in Punjab.
According to Bukhari, Wasim was a resident of Muzaffargarh whose father died when he was a child. His mother later married a man named Jafar and all three of his siblings were placed in the Dar‑ul‑Khuda orphanage, a facility registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860 and the Punjab Charities Commission. The home houses roughly 140 children. One sister left the orphanage six months ago and returned to live with their mother; another brother remains there, while Wasim had been living at the centre for the past six years.
About a week before the incident, Wasim was assigned to a contractor named Tauqeer to learn electrical work. Bukhari said that on October 19 he fled the site after allegedly being mistreated. She claimed that Tauqeer and his accomplice, Amjad, pursued him in a car for about one kilometre, spotted him and then ran him over, killing him. The main suspect, Tauqeer, has been arrested and his vehicle seized. Police are conducting raids on Amjad’s properties in Faisalabad.
An FIR numbered 990/2026, citing sections 302 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code, has been filed, with the police listed as the complainant. The prosecution is working with law enforcement to build a strong case, and the accused have been given a five‑day remand. SP Kainat Khadija visited the victim’s family in Muzaffargarh, promised full assistance and provided financial aid.
Maryam Nawaz has ordered that justice be ensured in every circumstance. The provincial Child Protection and Welfare Bureau, along with initiatives such as the Virtual Center for Child Safety, continues to support orphaned children through the Rahmat Card scheme and to combat child labour. Bukhari affirmed that the blood of children will not be shed in vain and that justice will be served.