Policeman killed in attack on police station

Suspects may have been trying to set free their companions.

KARACHI:

A policeman was killed and two others were wounded when the Sohrab Goth police station came under attack on Tuesday evening.

The deceased policeman, Zulfiqar, was on guard duty when the incident took place. According to witnesses, some men on three motorcycles came close to the police station and opened fire. As a result, three policemen, including head constable Zulfiqar and constables, Ghulam Nazuk and Arshad, were wounded.

They were taken to Patel Hospital for treatment where Zulfiqar succumbed to his injuries. His body was taken to Jinnah hospital, while the injured men were moved to Aga Khan Hospital later. The doctors said they are out of danger. There were reports that the shooters went inside the police station, where they managed to break free their arrested companions.

The police officials denied, however, these reports and said that the culprits escaped as soon as the police retaliated.

DSP Qamar Ahmed told The Express Tribune that the armed men used pistols and automatic weapons. They attacked from outside that is why the three men were hit, he said. As soon as the policemen deployed at the rooftop opened fire, the suspects escaped.

The suspects may have ties with the locally settled group of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), said DSP Ahmed. The men may have wanted to get seven of their companions free by attacking the police station, he added. The police arrested the alleged TTP men on Monday but they were kept at an undisclosed location. A case has yet to be filed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2013.