A 17-year-old boy in Pakistan’s Bahawalpur has been arrested after allegedly trying to poison his father and later asking an AI chatbot how to carry out a fatal attack without being detected, according to Pakistan’s cybercrime agency.
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) said it was alerted to the teenager’s online activity through an automated system. Its Punjab director, Hissam Bin Iqbal, formed a team that traced the boy to Bahawalpur, where he was taken into custody, Dawn reported.
Investigators say the student, who is in his second year of studies and is his parents’ only son, had fallen out with his father after a disagreement. The agency has not said what the dispute was about.
A laboratory at home
The teenager became interested in chemistry after watching the television drama Breaking Bad and set up a small laboratory at home, an NCCIA spokesperson told Dawn. Investigators allege he obtained chemical materials from Australia and Islamabad, then prepared a substance he intended to use against his father.
According to the agency, he administered the substance on one occasion, but the alleged attempt failed. Officials have not identified the substance or said what effect it had on his father.
The AI query came afterward, investigators say. The teenager allegedly asked a chatbot how to administer a lethal poison without being detected. The agency has not identified the chatbot or described any response it gave. The Express Tribune also reported that the alleged poisoning attempt preceded the chatbot query.
Questions remain under investigation
Officials have not publicly explained what triggered the automated alert or released the teenager’s alleged messages or prompts. The local media reports also provide no details of laboratory findings or charges against him.
Investigators are still examining the chemicals involved, the circumstances surrounding the alleged attempt and the boy’s online activity. Their account remains preliminary.
