Four cops injured in check post attack

Officials believe the attack was carried out by militants of a banned outfit.

KARACHI:

At least four personnel were wounded when a bomb exploded at a police post at Nursery, Sharae Faisal, on Wednesday morning.

The locally-manufactured bomb exploded outside the 'Police 15' check post near Nursery at approximately 9:20am. The explosion was of such magnitude that it caused the windows of nearby buildings to shatter and was heard in far-off areas. It also caused considerable damage to the structure of the police post.

Rescue workers were the first to reach the site. Four police officials who were on duty at the time had sustained serious injuries. They were rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. The injured personnel were identified as 42-year-old Saleem, son of Qasim, 43-year-old Mahiwal, son of Nazar Muhammad, 40-year-old Maqsood, son of Aurangzeb and 35-year-old Nasir, son of Farooq.

Over half-a-dozen policemen were present at the post when the bomb exploded. "It was the time of our shift change," explained one of the injured personnel, Saleem. "Some of the morning shift officials had reached the post while some had yet to arrive."

Witnesses said that the attack was carried out by two motorcyclists. "The two young men hurled the bomb at the police post from the Sharae Faisal flyover and fled," said the witness.

Bomb disposal squad (BDS) officials were summoned to the site to determine the nature of the blast. Before the arrival of the BD experts, there were reports that the bomb was planted in a motorcycle parked outside the post. The BD experts, however, ruled out this explanation. "It was a handmade bomb, concealed in a container. We can say that it was a modified version of a cracker bomb," explained a BD official. The official, quoting the initial examination, said that the bomb comprised around one kilogramme of highly explosive material and also included steel nails.

Following the blast, a large contingent of law enforcers, including police and Rangers reached the site and cordoned it off to collect the evidence. They were, however, unable to ascertain the motive behind the attack. "We believe it was part of the ongoing attacks on police personnel in Karachi," said Ferozabad SHO Safdar Mashwani. The officer said that the condition of all four injured cops was now stable. He apprehended that militants of banned outfits might have been behind the attack. A case has been registered against unidentified persons and police have also placed Section 3/4 of the explosives act and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act. Police are trying to trace the culprits with the help of witnesses and CCTV footage.

Law enforcement agencies, especially the police have been the target of several attacks by militants of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Besides the killings of 117 personnel in Karachi in the first eight months of 2014, several police stations, police posts and police mobiles have also been attacked.

A number of assailants have also been gunned down in alleged encounters by the police and Rangers but the attacks have not stopped. A couple of days ago, unidentified assailants also attacked a police armoured personnel carrier (APC) parked outside the Sharae Noor Jahan police station.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4^th, 2014.