MOHAMMAD BILAL TAHIR

KARACHI: Two army men were killed by unidentified gunmen near Parking Plaza in one of city’s highly congested areas, Saddar, on Tuesday.

Four men riding two motorbikes fired at a double cabin vehicle of Pakistan Army near Saddar Parking Plaza located near historic Empress Market, grievously injuring both the security personnel.

The injured were rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC). Deputy Director JPMC Dr Seemin Jamali told Business Recorder that one soldier was brought dead while the other succumbed to his injuries during treatment.

ISPR said the personnel were on a routine patrol when the incident took place. It said Sepoy Khadim Hussain and Lance Naik Abdul Razaq were martyred during the ambush.

“Both were shot multiple times in their heads and other parts of their upper torsi,” Dr Jamali told Business Recorder.

In-charge Counter Terrorism Department of Police Raja Umar Khattab said the accused riders fired upon the vehicle from left side with 9mm pistols.

Khattab said bike riders took head-shots of the two soldiers who were sitting inside their vehicle. He said attackers were on a motorcycle and managed to flee through the narrow lanes of adjacent locality Lines Area.

Soon after the incident security agencies cordoned off the area while forensic officials collected the evidence the scene of crime.

In December last year, two Military Police officials were killed after their vehicle was fired upon by unidentified gunmen near Tibet Centre on MA Jinnah road.

Talking to media persons at crime scene, Additional IG Mushtaq Mehar said there were no threats, but the situation in Karachi is known to everyone.  Answering a question, he said the police would examine whether there was a link between the two incidents.

According to sources, investigative agencies did not find bullet casings from the spot. They believed that the attackers may have attached bags with their guns to ensure that the casings are not scattered around. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the terrorist attack on military personnel in Karachi. The Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Interior and government of Sindh to hunt down the culprits. “We will not allow these terrorists to derail the ongoing operation for restoration of peace in Karachi,” he said in a statement.

The Prime Minister prayed for eternal peace of the departed souls and courage to the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss.

Governor Sindh Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad offered his condolences to the bereaved families.

Meanwhile funerals prayer of the deceased soldiers were held at PNS Shifa.

Chief of Jamaat Islami Karachi Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, Leader of Pak Sar Zameen Party (PSP) Mustafa Kamal, MQM-H’s Afaq Ahmed and others condemned the attack on military vehicle.

Agencies add: Two soldiers were shot dead Tuesday when motorcycle gunmen opened fire on their pick-up truck in Karachi, officials said. Dr Kaleem Shaikh, at Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre, told AFP that the dead men had been identified as Khadim Hussain and Abdul Razzaq. Both were shot in the head and face, he said.

“Razzaq died after reaching hospital while Hussain also died of his wounds after some time,” Shaikh added. The killing of army personnel outside northwestern restive tribal areas on the Afghanistan border and southwestern Baluchistan remains rare.

Last December, two army men were gunned down in a parked military vehicle, a few kilometres away from Tuesday’s incident.

The killings are the latest attacks in the busy port city of 20 million people riven by political, ethnic and sectarian violence, where one of the most popular singers of Sufi devotional music, Amjad Sabri, was shot dead last month.

Better security in Karachi has been one of the showcase successes of the crackdown, although two days before Sabri’s killing, the son of the provincial chief justice was kidnapped from an upscale shopping area. He was rescued later. Karachi’s murder rate fell by half after the paramilitary Rangers, who answer to the Ministry of Interior and the army, launched the crackdown in 2014, targeting suspected militants and criminals.

Political activists have accused the Rangers of heavy-handed tactics, including summary executions and targeting political parties. The paramilitary force denies the charges.