Cop gunned down in Karachi

ASI Ghulam Muhammad is the third policeman to be attacked fatally in the city in July

KARACHI:

A police official was gunned down by an unidentified assailant at a paan shop in Jut Lines, in the jurisdiction of the Brigade police station, on Thursday. He is the third police official to face a fatal attack in the city in the current month.

The deceased, identified as 52-year-old ASI Ghulam Muhammad, was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal formalities. The policeman, a resident of Lines Area, was posted in the investigation department at the Artillery Maidan police station.

Law enforcement officials arrived at the scene after being informed about the shooting and collected evidence while also retrieving CCTV footage from cameras installed nearby.

The police retrieved two bullet shells from a 30-bore pistol from the spot, which matched with those found from an attempted murder scene in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, according to the forensics report.

The law enforcers also recorded the statement of the paan shopkeeper. “The ASI was close to the shop when a man clad in pants and shirt approached him and asked 'Do you know me?'. When the ASI responded in the negative, the man pointed his gun at him," he told the police. "The ASI tried to push his gun away, but the attacker shot him in the chest.”

According to the shopkeeper, Muhammad collapsed to the ground after the first shot, upon which the attacker shot him again and fled on his motorcycle.

Talking to The Express Tribune, South DIG Javed Akbar Riaz said it was too early to call it a targeted killing, adding that incidents of targeted killing usually involved two attackers but Muhammad’s assailant had been alone.

"The ASI was shot twice, in the face and in the chest, which proved to be fatal for him," he said, adding that the police were checking which cases the deceased policeman had been investigating.

No arrests had been made till the filing of this report, while a case has been registered with the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD).

Meanwhile, the deceased’s nephew, Adeel, claimed his uncle was attacked on his way back from court, adding that the attacker had also taken Muhammad’s official pistol. Sindh IGP Mushtaq Mahar also took notice of the incident and sought a detailed report from the South SSP.

Spate of attacks

Muhammad is the third police officer to be fatally attacked in the provincial capital in July.

On July 11, gunmen opened fire at a head constable, Asghar, in Korangi. Ahmed sustained critical injuries and later succumbed during treatment.

Before that, on July 4, another policeman, Noman, was shot dead in Mehmoodabad while he was going home after duty.

The assailants fled with the martyred policemen’s weapons in the previous attacks too, which may suggest the involvement of the same culprits in the series of attacks.

On Wednesday, the CTD had arrested five militants from banned outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, claiming to have found a hit-list in their possession that indicated their intention to target law enforcement officials.