Two cops injured as suspects open fire during snap-checking

Two policemen on duty at a snap-checking picket were injured when armed men opened fire on them on Wednesday evening in Orangi Town.

According to officials, six cops were conducting snap-checking in Faqir Colony, Sector 10 within the limits of Mominabad police station. They signalled two men on a bike to stop for checking. However, the men opened fire instead, injuring two policemen.

Officials further said that other cops opened retaliatory fire, injuring one of the suspects. However, the men managed to escape under the cover of fire. The injured policemen were immediately shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where doctors termed their condition stable. According to SHO Asif Munawar, the injured cops – Rashid and Fahim – were out of danger. He said a motorcycle was recovered from the site of the incident as the suspects abandoned it and fled on foot.

A search operation was under way in the area to look for the fleeing suspects at the time this report was filed. Sindh IGP Dr Syed Kaleem Imam took notice of the incident and sought a detailed report from the District West SSP.

Personnel of the law enforcement agencies have rendered many sacrifices in the line of duty. Less than a week ago, two police officials were martyred when terrorists attempted to storm the Chinese Consulate in Karachi.

In the Friday morning incident, the consulate’s guards were attacked with grenades and heavy firing. The security forces, however, foiled the attack on the consulate, leaving all the three attackers dead in an hour-long shootout. Fortunately, all the diplomats and staff inside the consulate remained safe and secure, but the attack took the lives of two personnel of the Sindh police as well as two visa applicants.

There has been a massive decline in terrorism cases since the Karachi operation began on September 5, 2013. However, in less than a week, this was the second major terrorist act in Karachi. Earlier, two teenage vendors were killed and 10 others wounded in a powerful bomb blast in the Quaidabad neighbourhood.

A separatist group, the Balochistan Liberation Army, which opposes Chinese investment projects in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack. Sources said the country’s top intelligence and law enforcement agencies were tightening the noose around the nationalist militant group following the attack.

The assault began at around 9:30am when the three attackers, one of them wearing a suicide jacket, after parking their car at some distance from the consulate started moving towards the building. They were carrying hand grenades and sophisticated weapons.

The militants first threw a hand grenade and opened fire when they were intercepted by the security personnel at a checkpoint while trying to enter the consulate from the visa section. As many as 35 security personnel from the Sindh police, Rangers and FC deployed on security duties at the consulate managed to stop them from entering the building.

The consulate is located in Block-4 of the upmarket Clifton neighbourhood, which is home to a number of diplomatic missions. Two policemen, ASI Ashraf Daud, 40, and Constable Amir Khan, 30, and a security guard, Jumman Shah, 40, were injured.

The cops later passed away. Two visa applicants from Quetta, Niaz Muhammad, 56, and his son Muhammad Zahir Shah, 35, also lost their lives in the attack. Panic mounted as the area echoed with heavy gunshots and multiple blasts. Smoke rising from outside the consulate could also be seen from miles away. Schools in the area were immediately closed following the attack. Police and Rangers quickly surrounded the area and closed all the roads leading towards the consulate.

Top bosses from the Rangers and police also reached the site and inquired about the incident. At 12:15pm, security officials announced that the search operation had been completed. “The attack was foiled due to timely action by the police, Rangers and FC personnel deployed outside the consulate,” the Sindh Rangers spokesperson told the media.

Police officials said the terrorists wanted to create a hostage situation but their plan was foiled. The Sindh police chief said the terrorists wanted to enter the consulate, but they failed.