Report on Saudi diplomat killing in ‘a month’, says Rashid

CTD constituted a special investigation team at the request of the Saudi govt to probe the assassination

ISLAMABAD:

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid on Wednesday told Saudi Ambassador Nawaf Bin Said Al-Malki that the newly constituted investigation team by the Sindh government to probe the assassination of Saudi diplomat in Karachi in 2011 would complete its report within 30 days.

On November 14, the Sindh Police's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) had constituted a special investigation team at the request of the Saudi government to probe the killing.

The Saudi diplomat, also a security officer of the Saudi consulate in Karachi, was gunned down in a drive-by shooting within the limits of Darakshan Police Station in Defence Phase VI.

The diplomat, identified as Hassan M al Qahtani, was shot by at least four gunmen riding two motorcycles, who intercepted his vehicle after he left his residence near Khayaban-e-Shahbaz around 9am, according to the police.

The attack had come days after two grenades had been lobbed at the Saudi Consulate building in Karachi.

The New York Times quoted a Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, saying that the Saudi diplomat was an intelligence official. “He was looking into Saudi dissidents who have found refuge in the city and this is most probably why he was targeted,” the official said.

According to an order issued by the CTD, a special investigation team had been constituted to probe the assassination as it was a matter of "extreme national importance".

During the meeting, Rashid said that the investigation team by the Sindh government would complete its report within 30 days.

With input from APP