Javed Iqbal: Pakistan's Most Notorious Serial Killer

Javed Iqbal Mughal was one of the most prolific serial killers in history. Between 1998 and 1999, he confessed to the sexual abuse and murder of over 100 young boys in Lahore, Pakistan, ranging in age from 6 to 16 years old. His crimes were among the most horrific ever documented.

Iqbal's Early Life and Crimes

Iqbal was born in 1961 in Lahore, Pakistan, the sixth of eight children in a middle-class family. From a young age, he exhibited disturbing behavior, including accusations of sexually assaulting young boys in the 1980s and 1990s. However, he was never convicted due to his ability to bribe the victims' families and avoid police investigation.

In the late 1990s, Iqbal's criminal activities escalated dramatically. He lured vulnerable street children and orphans to his home, where he would sexually assault, strangle, and dismember them. Iqbal would then dissolve the bodies in vats of hydrochloric acid to destroy any evidence.

He kept meticulous records, including names, ages, and photographs of his victims.

Confession and Arrest

In December 1999, Iqbal sent a letter to the police and a local newspaper confessing to the murders. He claimed to have killed 100 boys, stating "My count has reached 100. He was a handsome 16-year-old Bhutan boy... he came from Peshawar. With the grace of God, my mission is complete. Tears roll down my cheeks. I will make sure that my mission and my message reach the world."

Iqbal's confession letter also included details of his crimes, such as the chain he used to strangle his victims and the partially dissolved human remains found in vats of acid in his home. Police discovered bloodstains, photographs, and other evidence corroborating his claims.

Iqbal surrendered to authorities a month later, stating that he feared for his life and was concerned the police would kill him. He was subsequently arrested and put on trial.

Trial and Sentencing

Iqbal's trial was a highly publicized and sensational affair, with the courtroom often packed with spectators and parents desperate to identify their lost children. The prosecution faced significant challenges, as Iqbal had left no survivors to testify against him.

Despite the lack of eyewitnesses, the court had Iqbal's detailed confession and the physical evidence found in his home. In a shocking ruling, Iqbal was sentenced to death in a manner similar to how he had killed his victims. The judge stated, "You will be strangled to death in front of the parents whose children you killed, your body will then be cut into 100 pieces and put in acid, the same way you killed the children."

However, the sentence was immediately contradicted by Pakistan's Interior Minister, who stated that such punishments were not allowed under the country's human rights obligations.

Death in Prison

Before the sentence could be carried out, Iqbal and one of his accomplices, Sajid Ahmed(who helped him lure his victims), were found dead in their prison cells on October 9, 2001. The authorities ruled their deaths as suicides by hanging, but autopsies revealed that they had been beaten prior to their deaths.

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Iqbal's body went unclaimed, and the circumstances surrounding his and his accomplice's deaths remain shrouded in mystery. Some speculate that they were killed by other inmates or prison guards to prevent the gruesome execution from taking place.

Motive

According to Iqbal's own account, the motive behind his crimes was rooted in a perceived injustice he had experienced at the hands of the Lahore police. In the 1990s, Iqbal had been arrested on charges related to the sexual assault of a young runaway boy. During this incident, the victim had severely beaten Iqbal, particularly about the head, rendering him unconscious.

Though Iqbal was not formally charged for this offense, the aftermath had a profound impact on his life. Iqbal claimed that his mother was "forced to watch [his] decline" following the attack and arrest, and that her subsequent fatal heart attack had "broken a hell" over him.

In his confession, Iqbal stated that his mother's death, after witnessing the deterioration of his social, economic and symbolic status, had driven him to resolve to make 100 other mothers "suffer and cry" for their sons, just as his own mother had been forced to do for him.