Exchange of fire: BLA commander killed in encounter

Mehmoodabad SHO says anti-aircraft guns were among the weapons seized

KARACHI: A local commander of a nationalist party of Balochistan, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), was killed during an encounter with the police in Shireen Jinnah Colony on Saturday.

The encounter took place when the Mehmoodabad police conducted a raid on a tip-off about the presence on militants within the jurisdiction of Boat Basin police station. During the exchange of fire, a suspect identified as Sheraz was killed while his companions managed to escape under the cover of fire.

Mehmoodabad SHO Sarwar Commando told The Express Tribune that the BLA commander killed during the encounter was setting the network up for the nationalist group in Karachi in the nexus of the drug and criminal mafias in a city. "They (the BLA) have even brought a huge cache of arms and ammunitions to disturb the peace of the city," said the SHO. Anti-aircraft guns were among the weapons seized, said the officer, adding that the police had a tip-off about his presence at his hideout in Shirin Jinnah Colony.

According to the SHO, Sheraz's brother, Khalid, has already been killed by the Rangers during an encounter in Lyari about a couple of months ago. He added that Sheraz was also the right hand of the notorious BLA leader, Amin Pasha, who was killed by the Frontier Constabulary in Balochistan a couple of years ago.

A case has been registered while further investigations are underway.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2015.