Karachi blast: Top anti-terror cop escapes bid on life

Two passers-by die as vehicle-borne improvised explosive device explodes.

KARACHI:

Two persons were killed and at least seven others were injured in a powerful blast targeting a senior anti-terrorism police officer in Karachi on Thursday night.

The blast, which was heard miles away, took place in Karachi’s Gizri locality just as Police Superintendent (SP) Farooq Awan, chief of the Criminal Investigation Department’s (CID) Special Investigation Unit (SIU), was passing by the area on his way home from work. While SP Awan escaped the attack – the third attempt on his life – with minor injuries, two passersby lost their lives.

“One man was brought to us dead,” the in-charge of Jinnah Hospital’s emergency department Dr Seemin Jamali told The Express Tribune. “Another man passed away during treatment,” she said.

The deceased were identified as 60-year-old Abdul Ghaffoor, a resident of the city’s Defence locality, and 30-year-old Kaleemullah, a delivery man for a local eatery.

At least six other people, including two women and members of Awan’s security detail, were injured in the attack. According to Dr Jamali, their condition was stable.

While the nature of the attack was uncertain at first, experts from the bomb disposal squad (BDS) confirmed the blast was carried out using a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED). “Over 50 kilogrammes of explosive material was used in the device,” a BDS official told The Express Tribune.

The blast was so powerful that it was heard miles away, in areas as far apart as Karachi’s Malir locality, according to reports. It damaged power pylons in the vicinity, leaving much of the surrounding area without electricity, along with signboards and the windows of nearby houses.

“Footage from CCTV cameras installed around the blast site showed a young man park a Suzuki pick-up truck beside the footpath and walk away from the area,” chief of CID’s Counter-Terrorism Unit Raja Omar Khattab said. “Some time later, two men on a motorcycle stopped by the Suzuki, took a look, and left. Awan’s squad passed by the site four minutes later, around 9:07pm, and that’s when the blast took place,” he added. According to him, the bomb was remotely detonated.

“This attack has much in common with the attack on SP Chaudhry Aslam Khan,” Khattab told The Express Tribune. “Both officers were targeted on their way home from work.”

According to police sources, intelligence agencies had issued a warning about possible attacks on senior policemen in Karachi a few days back. The warning was issued following the release of Mufti Shakir, who was arrested in connection with the attack on Chaudhry Aslam.

While sources pointed towards the Abid Mucchar group of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan as a likely suspect behind the attack, CID’s Khattab thought Jundullah could have been behind it. “Over the last year, Jundullah has become active in Karachi again,” he said.

While SP Awan has not been directly involved in recent operations against terrorist outfits in the city, Khattab said all officers who worked against banned outfits in the past were being targeted.

Awan, a highly decorated police officer, has been involved in anti-terrorism cases for a good part of his 31-year career. Highlights in his career include the Daniel Pearl murder case and the attack on Iranian engineers.

The SIU chief is also the third Sindh police counter-terrorism official to be targeted by militants in Karachi in less than a year. Earlier, SP Chaudhry Aslam and Specialised Investigation Team in-charge Shafiq Tanoli were killed in separate bombings in the city.

President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain, Chairman Senate, Leader of the House and Opposition in Senate have condemned the attack on SP Awan.

PTI chief Imran Khan has also condemned the assault and offered condolences to the families of the deceased.


Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2014.