The terrorist attack outside the Punjab Assembly on Mall Road on Monday claimed the life of Traffic DIG Captain (r) Ahmed Mobeen Ahmed, among others. The unexpected death of the recently appointed chief traffic officer (CTO) left his colleagues, friends, and family in shock.
Born in Quetta in 1973, Ahmed Mobeen joined the police in 1996 after retiring from the Pakistan Army as a captain. Looking back at the life of the deceased, fellow servicemen commended him for his proactive policing style of policing and called said that he was a brave man who took problems head-on and did his duty 24/7.
During his illustrious career, DIG Mobeen held a number of posts including the vital positions of DPO Kasur, DIG Investigation Quetta, SP Model Town Lahore, SSP Investigation Lahore, DPO Pakpattan, DIG Investigation Balochistan, and finally, CTO Lahore.
Even on the day of the incident, the DIG was on the spot to negotiate with protestors and trying to convince them to end their sit-in. His contemporaries and colleagues said that this hands-on approach was typical of him and that he would often go to the scene himself rather than delegating these duties to his juniors.
The immense amount of respect that his colleagues and juniors harboured for him is evident from the memories that the recalled of the fallen officer. SP City Rana Shujat said that DIG Mobeen was more loved by the public than he was in the police department. He added that he was a selfless man who had no qualms in responding to and helping junior officers in any capacity.
SP Sadar Babur bin Dilawar said that Mobeen was an incredibly brave man who smiled through thick and thin and maintained his naturally pleasant demeanour, no matter what.
Recalling memories of the policeman, SP Babar said that during his tenure as Defence ASP in 2002, Mobeen had investigated a kidnapping case of two children while suffering from a fever of 103 degrees and had succeeded in nabbing the culprits.
Mobeen was later transferred to Quetta as DIG along with SSP Fayyaz Ahmed Sunbal on the orders of former Chief Justice of Pakistan Chaudhry Iftikhar. Unfortunately, Fayyaz Sunbal was martyred in a suicide attack during the funeral prayers of a police officer in 2013. Mobeen, who was also present at the funeral, survived. The SP revealed that Mobeen used to visit Fayyaz Sunbal’s family whenever he went to Quetta and used to encourage his children.
Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) DSP Ashraf Chadhar said that Mobeen had also worked in the CTD, investigating numerous suicide attacks and catching multiple terrorists.
By all accounts, he was a strict officer who nevertheless always stood with his colleagues, staffers, and juniors.
Deputy Inspector General of the Police Mobeen Ahmed was laid to rest on Tuesday at Cavalry graveyard with full police honours. He has left behind a legacy that police officers aspire to and a memory of professionalism that will be their benchmark for many years to come.