Top police officer, family gunned down in Quetta

SP Investigation, family members gunned down in Quetta

LAHORE/QUETTA: Acting SP Investigation City Muhammad Ilyas along with his wife, son and grandson were all shot dead in the Nawa Killi area in Quetta on Wednesday.

Armed men riding on a motorbike opened indiscriminate fire on Ilyas’s private vehicle while they were on their way to Nawa Killi.

His wife, identified as Raziya Bibi, his son, Muhammad Adeel and grandson Abdul Wahab, 6, were all killed on the spot.

His granddaughter also sustained bullet wounds during the incident and her condition is said to be critical.

Rescue workers shifted the deceased and injured to Civil Hospital Quetta.

The attackers managed to flee the scene after committing the crime.

 SP Investigation Quetta Jawad said that it is too early to comment if Ilyas was facing any threats.  No group has come forward to accept responsibility for the attack so far. The target killing is the second attack on a high-profile officer in the provincial capital.

Last week DIG Communication Hamid Shakeel and two other policemen accompanying him were killed in a suicide attack in Chaman Housing Society.

At least 42 police personnel including seven high-ranking officers were killed in targeted attacks and suicide blasts this year alone.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted a committee to make necessary arrangements for bringing bodies of the deceased back to their ancestral areas in Punjab.

“This committee shall make arrangements to bring the dead bodies to Punjab and shall also provide every possible assistance to the heirs; corresponding with the Baluchistan government,” a statement issued by the CM office said.

Provincial Minister Rana Mashhood Ahmed will head the committee. The committee includes Provincial Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir, Secretary Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education, Secretary Primary & Secondary Health, Commissioner Gujranwala Division, CCPO Lahore, RPO Gujranwala, DGPR Punjab, Deputy Commissioner Lahore and DG Shehr-e-Khamoshan Authority.

The chief minister strongly condemned the killing and extended sympathies to the heirs of the bereaved families.

“The more we regret the loss of precious human lives, the less it would be. All our sympathies are with the bereaved families and we fully share the grief of the victims,” the chief minister said in his message of condolence to the bereaved families.

 

With additional input from our correspondent in Lahore