Balochistan unrest: Two constables gunned down in Quetta

Additional attacks at check post and ECP office injure one.

QUETTA:

Two police constables were gunned down in the Arbab Karam Khan Road area of the provincial capital on Tuesday.

Hasmatullah, an official of the Saryab police station, told The Express Tribune that unidentified armed men in an Alto car opened fire at the constables who were riding a motorbike near the Farooq flour mills. Both officials – identified as Ali Dad Hazara and Shamir Baloch – were killed on the spot, while the attackers managed to flee.

“The two men killed were constables of the Brewery police station and they were going to perform their duties at Sabzal Road,” Hasmatullah said.

Police and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel rushed to the scene of the crime and cordoned off the area to preserve the evidence. The deceased were shifted to the Bolan Medical College Teaching Hospital (BMC) for autopsy.

The Jaishul Islam has claimed responsibility for the attack. A case has been registered against and investigations are under way.



Meanwhile, unidentified armed men opened fire at a security check post at Jabar Pul, in Barkhan, and wounded a security official. The injured man, identified as Muhammad Ishaq, was shifted to a nearby state-run hospital. Although the security forces opened retaliatory fire, the attackers escaped.

Furthermore, unidentified people hurled a hand grenade at the Election Commission office in Chamrook Chowk, an area of Khuzdar city. According to sources, the blast shattered windows and glass panes of the building, and several doors were broken. No casualties were reported though.

Police and other law enforcement agencies rushed the site and have started an investigation. No organisation has yet claimed responsibility.

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