Waseem Abbas case: what we know about the Multan orphan's death and the suspect's killing

The death of Waseem Abbas, a 15-year-old orphan in Multan, has shaken Pakistan this week. Celebrities, politicians and ordinary people are asking the same question: how could this happen to a child who was supposed to be in safe care?

Here is what has been reported so far. The case is still under investigation, and allegations have not been decided by a court.

Who was Waseem?

According to Geo News, Waseem was from Muzaffargarh. After losing his father, he lived for six years at the Dar-ul-Khuda orphanage in Multan. About a week before his death, the orphanage placed him with a contractor, Tauqeer Nazir, to learn electrical work at a private housing society.

What happened on October 17

Reports in The Express Tribune and Geo say that after a work-related argument, Waseem tried to leave. Police allege that Tauqeer and an accomplice, Amjad Ali, chased him by car for about a kilometre and ran him over. CCTV reportedly shows the boy running before he was hit. He suffered a severe head injury and died at the scene.

According to the FIR described by Hum News, the car pushed Waseem into a house pillar, and an eyewitness caught Tauqeer at the scene. Tauqeer later claimed in a video that the car “slipped” while they were trying to block the boy’s path. Police treated it as intentional killing and registered a murder case.

The suspect’s death

Tauqeer was arrested. Then, according to the Crime Control Department (CCD) as reported by Hum News, he escaped custody on Tuesday night and was killed the next day in an alleged “encounter” in Bahawalpur, when police say two men on a motorcycle opened fire. The other rider escaped. The full circumstances of his escape and death have not been made public.

Waseem’s mother has asked to see footage of how he died. “What if they are lying to us that he died?” she asked.

Police say they are still looking for Amjad, with raids in Faisalabad, and are questioning the orphanage about how Waseem was sent to work.

The reaction

• Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz was personally monitoring the case.
• Khawaja Saad Rafique asked why Waseem got no immediate medical help and called for an audit of orphanages that send children to workplaces.
• Actors Yumna Zaidi, Mishi Khan, Ahsan Khan, Seher Khan, Faizan Sheikh and Faiza Khan posted demanding justice. Mishi Khan said the investigation standard “needs reforms”, and Faiza Khan called it “what happens in a country where there is no rule of law”.

The bigger questions

This case raises hard questions beyond one suspect: why a 15-year-old in an orphanage’s care was sent to work at all, who checked on him, and why suspects keep dying in police “encounters” before facing trial. Deaths like this leave families without a trial or full answers.

We will update this story as the investigation continues.