On 26 October 2018, Tahir was abducted from
Islamabad, Pakistan, where he had arrived the same day from
Peshawar to attend a meeting. The police officials investigating the kidnapping case informed that Tahir had dinner on 26 October at his residence in Islamabad, then he went out alone on foot at around 7pm, and his mobile phone was found to be switched off from around 8pm. in the
Dur Baba District of the province of
Nangarhar, Afghanistan. He was buried the same day at a cemetery in the
Momand Dara area in Nangarhar, On 14 November, Tahir's body was exhumed from the cemetery in Momand Dara, and carried to
Jalalabad on the order of Hayatullah Hayat,
Governor of Nangarhar. On 15 November, the body was received at the
Torkham . Pakistan's State Minister of Interior
Shehryar Afridi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Information Minister
Shaukat Yousafzai were also present at the jirga in Torkham. The same day, separate Islamic funeral prayers were reperformed for Tahir at Police lines. Shehryar Afridi also complained that at least 600 of the 1800 surveillance cameras installed under the Safe City Project in Islamabad were not working and that not one camera could read a vehicle's number plate or a person's face. In a
Pashto note handwritten on a blank piece of paper, which was reportedly placed on the chest of the dead body of Tahir, the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (ISIL-KP) claimed responsibility of the murder. However, there was no official claim of responsibility from
Amaq Agency, the news outlet linked to
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Some political analysts, journalists, and activists have questioned the authenticity of the handwritten note found besides the body, arguing that ISIL makes its official claims through Amaq Agency, not in this manner. Calling for an international commission to investigate the murder case rather than investigating it internally, Mohsin Dawar said: "We reject an internal inquiry. We know that our investigation authorities can’t question certain powers."
Investigation On 16 November 2018, a seven-member joint investigation team was formed to probe the murder. The team was headed by the
Superintendent of Police Investigation in Islamabad, while the other members were the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) at Islamabad Shalimar Circle, the
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) from the
Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), the investigating officer of the case, and one representative each from the
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the
Military Intelligence (MI), and the
Intelligence Bureau (IB), the three
Pakistani intelligence agencies. Nadia Tahir, daughter of Tahir Dawar, said in October 2019 that the team made no tangible progress in investigating the murder. Ahmaduddin, brother of Tahir Dawar, said "the joint investigation team called several friends of Tahir Dawar, including former member of the
Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Adnan Wazir, Brigadier Naeem Bhatti, and Additional Accountant General Islamabad Sharifullah Khan. The friends told us that the joint investigation team questioned them like a team of the
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and asked questions about the assets of Tahir Dawar. The investigators did not pose any questions about Tahir Dawar’s abduction and murder." Ahmaduddin claimed that
prime minister Imran Khan had promised to probe the murder through a UN commission if the family was not satisfied with the joint investigation team report; however, when asked to do so, Imran Khan refused by arguing that a UN commission had previously investigated the
assassination of Benazir Bhutto but its performance was unsatisfactory. He promised that the Afghan government would investigate the case.
Pashtun Tahafuz Movement Supporters of the
Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) held protest rallies in several cities of Pakistan and demanded for an international commission to investigate the case.
Opposition parties in Pakistan Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party's leader
Mahmood Khan Achakzai equated the murder of Tahir with
Jamal Khashoggi, saying "both incidents required international probe."
Awami National Party held protest rallies in several cities across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and backed the demand of PTM to call for an international inquiry.
Qaumi Watan Party also protested against the murder and demanded for an early arrest of the killers.
Pakistan Muslim League (N) and
Pakistan Peoples Party criticized the government of Pakistan for failing to provide security to Tahir in the capital Islamabad.
Package for Tahir's family On 4 Dec 2018, Shehryar Afridi, the State Minister of Interior, announced a package of Rs70 million for Tahir's family. He said prime minister Imran Khan had approved the package. However, in October 2019, Tahir's daughter Nadia disclosed that the federal government had not paid them the Rs70 million compensation despite announcing it, and that the
Pakistan Army had paid them Rs25 million" ==Tahir's poetry==