ISLAMABAD: Police in Pakistan’s capital said on Tuesday they had used artificial intelligence and digital surveillance to arrest suspects in the killing of a businessman within 24 hours of the crime.
Amir Awan, a prominent businessman, was shot dead early Monday during an armed robbery at his farmhouse in Islamabad, police said.
Islamabad Police Chief Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi said investigators conducted geo-fencing across multiple locations, analyzed footage from more than 250 cameras and reviewed details of over 130 phone calls as part of the investigation.
“Through that artificial intelligence, whether it is through digital surveillance or otherwise, the way artificial intelligence simplifies a laborious digital work of six to seven days, this is the practical manifestation of artificial intelligence in Islamabad,” Rizvi told reporters.
“And in Islamabad, using artificial intelligence generally, this is the first heinous, the most heinous case in which we have used artificial intelligence.”
The case underscores the growing role of technology in policing in Pakistan, particularly through Islamabad’s Safe City system, a network of hundreds of high-definition cameras, automated number plate recognition and centralized monitoring that allows law enforcement to track movements, analyze footage and respond to incidents in real time.
According to a police report filed by Awan’s wife, Ayesha Awan, five armed men broke into the farmhouse around 2:45 a.m. CCTV footage showed masked suspects carrying weapons and wearing bulletproof jackets as they entered the premises.
The report said Awan was shot in the abdomen after resisting the attackers, who fled with a Kalashnikov rifle, mobile phones and cash. The businessman later died of his injuries at a hospital.
Police chief Rizvi said the probe led to dozens of raids in Rawalpindi city and the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, resulting in the arrest of members of what he described as an inter-provincial criminal gang.
Rizvi added that some members of the group were Afghan nationals, without presenting evidence, and that the suspects opened fire after the victim resisted. Authorities said the stolen weapon and mobile phones had been recovered.
State Minister for Interior Tallal Chaudry said the suspects were arrested within a day of the attack, crediting surveillance systems and digital tracking measures for the swift response.
“This incident took place less than 24 hours ago,” Chaudry said. “All those accused who committed this sad incident were arrested.”
