Blood and bullets: SSU commando gunned down in ‘targeted attack’

Deceased was shot after completing duty at State Guest House

KARACHI: A commando serving at the elite Special Security Unit (SSU) of the Sindh police was shot dead on Tuesday while going home after completing his duty at the State Guest House.

The deceased has been identified as 31-year-old Syed Zahid Ali Jaffri, son of Syed Muzaffar Ali Jaffri.

According to the police, the incident occurred when Jaffri was travelling back to his house on his motorcycle after his duty ended. Unidentified assailants opened fired at him near Karimabad, within the jurisdiction of Sharifabad police station, said DSP Wajahat Hussain. The official was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, he revealed.

The initial investigation suggests that the victim was killed in an act of targeted killing. The culprits also took the empty shells of their pistols while fleeing, he added.

The funeral prayers for the slain commando were offered at SSU Headquarters. Along with his family members, a number of police officials including Sindh IG Allah Dino Khawaja, Additional IG Mushtaq Mehar, District West DIG Feroz Shah also attended the funeral.

The special squad of SSU presented a guard of honour to the slain commando.

Jaffri had joined the unit on October 9, 2013.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30^th,  2016.