Two cops martyred in drive-by shooting on highway

Balochistan home minister vows to apprehend attackers disrupting peace

QUETTA:

At least two policemen were martyred and another sustained injuries in a drive-by shooting in Balochistan’s Mastung district late Monday night.

According to police officials, unidentified armed men targeted a police van on the Quetta- Karachi national highway. They opened indiscriminate fire at the police van patrolling the highway, resulting in the death of two police personnel on the spot and injuring another.

Police rushed to the site soon after receiving information about the incident and shifted the bodies and injured constable to district hospital Mastung.

The deceased cops were identified as Imdad Ali and Nazeer Ahemd. The injured constable was admitted to the hospital for medical treatment.

Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langau strongly condemned attack on police. In a statement, he said some anti-national elements are striving to destabilise peace of Balochistan in a bid to please their foreign masters.

He added that such cowardly attacks could not weaken the morals of security forces.

“The security forces had broken the backbone of terrorists from the country and Balochistan after rendering sacrifices of their precious lives,” Langau said. “The Balochistan government is committed to eliminate terrorism from the province for maintaining durable peace.”

The home minister directed the officials of concerned departments to submit a report of the incident as soon as possible after completing inquiry so that the anti-national elements involved in the attack on police can be brought to justice.

He also ordered to provide the best medical facilities to injured police constable.

Earlier, on May 10, two Frontier Corps soldiers were severely injured in an IED explosion in Quetta.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2021.