‘Punjabi Taliban’ claim responsibility

At least seven people were killed in the attack on oil tankers near the federal capital. PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD: The Tuesday night attack on some 100 oil tankers and trucks meant for transporting supplies to Nato forces in Afghanistan in the Tarnol area of Islamabad left 80 of the vehicles badly burnt. According to official figures, another 60 carriage trucks (22-wheelers) were also gutted.

The federal capital woke on Wednesday to assess the damage to the Nato fleet in the brazen firing spree launched by unknown gunmen, which killed eight people and injured five. According to Xinhua, the so-called Punjabi Taliban Wednesday claimed responsibility for the attack.

The fire-fighting effort continued till morning. However, only a few trucks in the yard remained untouched by the blaze. Tarnol police registered separate cases against unidentified attackers.

Inspector General of Police Kaleem Imam suspended Superintendent of Police (Saddar) Hakim Khan for alleged dereliction of duty. He was replaced by SP CID Capt. (R) Liaqut Ali Khan.

A joint investigation by the police and the civil administration of Islamabad was launched to fix responsibility for failure to provide security to the fleet. “It was a clear case of negligence,” admitted deputy commissioner Islamabad Amir Ali Ahmad. But Xinhua news agency quoted an official with the Islamabad police as saying that ensuring safety of oil tankers is the responsibility of Nato.

Witnesses told the news agency when the attack was launched there was only one security guard at the parking lot to protect the Nato fleet parked there. Interior Minister Rehman Malik has ordered a probe into the incident and demanded a report on the attack in three days. Two police teams were sent to Fateh Jang and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa respectively to pursue the probe. Security agencies also arrested two suspects from different areas of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. According to police, some 12 gunmen equipped with semi-machine guns and 7mm rifles entered the yard where the trucks had been parked. They set fire to the trucks and also fired upon the oil-tankers. However, eyewitnesses put the number of attackers higher.

The eyewitnesses claimed that it was a well-planned and coordinated attack and the assailants managed to escape unhurt after spending more than an hour at the site.

Local residents informed The Express Tribune that these trucks had been gathering there for the last four to five days. “We had booked these goods from Karachi port and were asked to unload them here at this place. From here onwards, some other trucks had to carry them to Kabul but for some unknown reasons they had not arrived as yet,” said a truck driver. However, the police were clueless about the details of the contractors responsible for the consignments. “Someone with the name of Shakeel alias Pappa was the main contractor responsible for transporting these goods from Islamabad to Peshawar was missing since the incident. Some other contractor and package companies were also his partners. It was their responsibility to ask the police for security. Besides, the area was under the control of Islamabad administration, they should have asked the police for the security of the area. None of them contacted the police,” a senior police official at the Tarnol police station told The Express Tribune.

However, officials in the Islamabad administration maintained that it was the responsibility of police to keep an eye on every activity within their jurisdiction. The government announced to review security protocols for truck convoys carrying supplies for international forces stationed in Afghanistan through Pakistan.

Rehman Malik told reporters that contractors hired by Nato are currently responsible for the security of their supplies. He, however, did not elaborate on the new mechanism. (With additional reporting by Zia M Khan).

Published in the Express Tribune, June, 2010.