On 15 August 2013, a hostage crisis occurred in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, in the Blue Area of the city. Malik Muhammed Sikander took one woman and two children

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refr ...

, purported to be his wife and children. The event ended after six hours due to the intervention of Zamarud Khan and the shooting of Sikander.

Background

Islamabad had been on high alert for the ten days preceding the event, as intelligence agencies had suggested a high likelihood of

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

activity in the city. The week prior to the crisis, the Quetta mosque attack had taken place. However the police quickly eliminated this as an organized terrorist operation.

Events

On 15 August 2013, Malik Muhammad Sikandar stole a car and eluded several police officers. He eventually drove into the middle of Jinnah Avenue in the Blue Area. Police on the scene were initially unable to arrest the man. According to Inspector General of Police Sikandar Hayat, the gunman made seven demands during early negotiations, including the imposition of

Shariah Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

in the country and safe passage for his family. Some demands were illegal and others beyond the ability of police to provide. The police conducted several rounds of negotiations without result. The incident was televised live over a six-hour period. Several politicians attempted to negotiate with the hostage-taker, without success. Zamarud Khan was also watching the situation and travelled to the scene where he obtained permission to approach the gunman. Khan approached the family and exchanged a few words with the gunman. While shaking hands with the children, Khan made a sudden attempt to capture the man, but lost his footing. The gunman fired several shots, but Khan escaped injury. Khan rushed towards the children and moved them away from danger. Available police then fired at the gunman's legs, injuring him, and he fell to the ground. He was arrested and taken to hospital for treatment.

Aftermath

After Sikander's arrest, the Kohsar Police Station registered a case against him and his wife under Section 6 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. On 11 May 2017, an Anti-Terrorism Court in Islamabad sentenced Muhammad Sikander to 16 years in prison and a

Rs. Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

110,000 fine. It added that failure to pay the fine would result in an increase in the

prison sentence In law, a sentence is the punishment for a crime ordered by a trial court after conviction in a criminal procedure, normally at the conclusion of a trial. A sentence may consist of imprisonment, a fine, or other sanctions. Sentences for multip ...

by six months. His wife was acquitted and released. A petition seeking suspension of Sikander's sentence was brought to

Islamabad High Court The Islamabad High Court is the senior court of the Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan, with appellate jurisdiction over the following district courts: * Islamabad District Court (East) * Islamabad District Court (West) Justice Aamer Far ...

. The Court, consisting of Chief Justice

Athar Minallah Athar Minallah (; born 30 December 1961) is a Pakistani jurist serving as a judge of Supreme Court of Pakistan since 11 November 2022. Prior to that, he served as the 5th Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court from 28 November 2018 to 10 Novembe ...

and Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb, reserved its decision on 13 April 2019. The decision was announced on 12 June 2019, and the petition was dismissed. Terming the whole episode a security lapse, the government changed 9 of the 16 superintendents of police (SPs) of Islamabad. An unofficial report released by the inquiry committee pointed out major failures in the communication mechanisms of the security forces. The findings stated that the security forces and the police had failed to come up with a well-planned strategy to deal with the situation, and that the incident had been unnecessarily prolonged.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Islamabad Hostage Drama Hostage taking in Pakistan Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2013 Crime in Islamabad 2010s in Islamabad