ISLAMABAD-
Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a security patrol in a crowded Islamabad market on Tuesday injuring one police commando, according to officials, in a rare attack in Pakistan´s capital.
The incident occurred in Melody Market, a congested shopping and eating area, as a Rapid Response Force (RRF) comprising both paramilitary rangers and civilian police were patrolling, police official Abdul Majeed told a foreign news agency.
“One personnel of the elite force has been wounded and taken to the hospital,” Majeed said, adding that the firing was now over.
Details of the attack including the number of gunmen were not yet clear but police are combing the area searching for the culprits, Majeed said.
A second police official confirmed to the news agency the commando had been shot, while a spokesman for Islamabad´s Polyclinic hospital said the man had “received two bullets — one on his hand and one in the chest. He is currently being operated on.
“The RRF was recently established and began patrolling Islamabad in late May following twin bomb attacks that killed one and wounded another.
The city has been on high alert for a militant backlash against air strikes in the restive tribal areas late May which killed at least 75. While thousands have been killed in militant violence in Pakistan in recent years, attacks on the capital, much of which is heavily guarded, have been rare.
The enemies of peace are lurking everywhere, even in the capital city. We are glad that no life was lost in this attack on the elite forces patrolling the city. Never the less this is a condemnable act. We hope for fast and full recovery of the injured. It is the need of the time to be vigilant against the enemy, whose main purpose is to spread fear and mayhem. We stand with the people and security forces of Pakistan against this common enemy who may be able to create these one off incident of terror but cannot deter the will of a common Pakistani who is striving for peace in the region.
Abdul Quddus
DET-United States Central Command
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