Another police official gunned down

Yar Muhammad is the fourth cop to be targeted in a fatal attack in July

A police official was shot dead by unknown assailants near Abbas Cut at Northern Bypass on Thursday night. He was the fourth official to be gunned down in a spate of targeted killings of police personnel in July.

According to the police, the deceased official, identified as sub-inspector Yar Muhammad, was travelling on his motorcycle with another policeman, Ghous Bakhsh, in plainclothes when armed motorcyclists opened fire on him. Muhammad, 54, was deputed at the Gulshan-e-Maymar police station.

Malir SSP Irfan Bahadur arrived on the spot with a police team soon after the incident, gathering evidence from the area while the body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities.

On Friday, a case pertaining to the murder was registered with the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) under sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, on the complaint of Bakhsh.

According to the FIR, Bakhsh was out on duty with the Gulshan-e-Maymar SHO when he received a phone call from Muhammad, asking him to accompany the latter to Taiser Town to investigate a pending complaint. The two policemen were on their way to Taiser Town when unidentified assailants opened fire on Muhammad, the FIR went on to say. It added that Bakhsh immediately called for back-up, but the gunmen escaped while Muhammad succumbed to his wounds.

Bakhsh further stated that he would be able to recognise the culprits if he saw them.

In the meantime, Muhammad’s funeral prayers were offered at the Garden police headquarters, attended by Karachi AIG Ghulam Nabi Memon and other senior police officials.

Memon later paid tribute to the slain policeman, stating that Karachi’s police officials had rendered great sacrifices for the city’s peace and security. "These sacrifices are the pride of the police force and the cowardly acts of criminals cannot diminish the courage of our police officials," he said. "We will chase the culprits to their dens and bring them to justice."

A series of attacks

Muhammad is the fourth police official to be shot dead in a targeted attack in the provincial capital during the month of July.

On July 23, ASI Ghulam Muhammad was gunned down by an unidentified assailant at a paan shop in Jut Lines, in the jurisdiction of the Brigade police station.

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

Before that, on July 4, Madadgar 15 police official Noman was shot dead in Mehmoodabad while he was going home after duty.

Cases pertaining to these three murders have been registered with the CTD, but no arrests have yet been made.

On July 22, however, 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.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1^st, 2020.