Former SSP Malir Rao Anwar survives assassination attempt

Five suspected assailants involved in the attack were killed in an encounter after being chased by the police

KARACHI: Five suspected militants were killed after they mounted an unsuccessful attempt to kill former District Malir SSP Rao Anwar on Saturday evening.

Anwar, who survived the attack, was travelling in an armoured convoy through the Malir Link Road when the assailants on motorbikes and car attacked him

“I was on my way to visit the spot where DSP Fateh Sangri was assassinated when armed assailants attacked me by hurling a hand grenade,” said SSP Rao. He said that the attackers had thrown at least three hand grenades; however, two of them did not explode.

Policemen accompanying SSP Rao retaliated forcing the assailants to flee.

“We launched a search operation in the area to chase them (attackers) and killed five of them after an exchange of fire while nearly five others managed to escape,” he said.

Read: IG Sindh suspends SSP Malir Rao Anwar after controversial press briefing

Though the attackers have yet to be identified, SSP Rao suspected that the attackers seemed to be members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

The police have recovered a car, a motorcycle, four hand grenades, two Kalashnikovs and seven pistols from the possession of the suspects.

Read: Dr Najeeb Khan replaces Rao Anwar as SSP Malir

SSP Rao and his team have so far killed over one hundred suspected militants in Malir and Gadap districts of Karachi.

This is not the first time that SSP Rao has been attacked. In April 2012, when SSP Anwar was making his way to the Malir court for a meeting with a sessions judge regarding an inquiry into the murder of former Malir Bar Association president Salahuddin and his son Ali, a suicide bomber hit his APC. The attack had left five people dead and injured eighteen others, but SSP Rao survived.

Read: ‘Misuse’ of power: JIT to probe SSP Rao’s charges against MQM

The attack comes two days after SSP Rao was removed from the post of the District Malir, just hours after he had held a controversial press conference in which he announced the arrest of the two suspects, who he claimed were members of Indian spy agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing).