Cop, volunteer shot dead in front of mosque

BAHAWALPUR:

A policeman and a volunteer were killed in Uch Sharif when gunmen shot at them while they were guarding a mosque on Saturday night.

Policeman Haibat Khan and volunteer Abdul Sattar were performing their duty outside a mosque in Tanki Chowk, Uch Sharif, during taraweeh prayers. Four unidentified gunmen, who were riding two motorcycles, drove into the street and started shooting at the guards. Khan and Sattar both received bullet injuries as a result of the firing. Khan died on the spot, while Sattar died on way to hospital.

After the attack, Bahawalpur Regional Police Officer Muhammad Tahir Roy and District Police Officer Sarfraz Falki arrived at the scene with reinforcements. All entry and exit points of the city have been cordoned off.

The district police officer directed the Ahmadpur East DSP and Uch Sharif Station House Officer Azhar Javed to make all out efforts to trace the attackers. Uch Sharif police have registered a case against unidentified attackers under the Anti-Terrorism Act and have started investigating. Khan’s funeral was held in Bahawalpur Police Lines on Sunday.

Provincial minister Malik Iqbal Channar, Bahawalpur Division Commissioner Col (r) Javed Akhtar, District Coordination Officer Imran Sikandar Baloch, Regional Police Officer Roy and District Police Officer Falki attended the funeral. The Punjab government announced Rs10 million for Khan’s family. The Bahawalpur DPO also gave Rs50,000 each to the families of the deceased men.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2014.