Two soldiers of the Pakistan Army were martyred when unidentified gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in the congested, downtown Saddar area in Karachi, police and hospital officials said.
The attackers managed to flee the scene.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that unidentified miscreants riding two motorcycles attacked a military vehicle which was on routine duty near Parking Plaza, close to Empress Market, one of the busiest markets of Saddar, Karachi.
As a result of the gun attack Lance Naik Razzaq died on the spot while Sepoy Khadim Hussain was critically injured. The body and injured were shifted to Jinnah Hospital where the wounded soldier also succumbed to his injuries during treatment.
A large contingent of Pakistan Rangers and Sindh police personnel reached the scene soon after the attack, blocking the roads leading to the crime scene and cordoning off the area.
Karachi Police Chief Mushtaq Maher speaking on the occasion said that two Jawans belonging to a security agency were attacked in their vehicle. He said that forensic experts were looking for fingerprints, empty bullet shells, CCTV footage or any other clues.
When asked, he said that police will try to “ascertain if there are links to any such earlier shooting incidents in the city”.
According to initial reports from Counter-Terrorism Department officials, a 9mm pistol was used in the attack, with empty 9mm bullet shells found from the scene of the crime.
“9mm weapon was used in the attack. Both Jawans were shot in the head,” the chief of police’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Raja Umar Khattab said.
Khattab said that the attackers approached the vehicle from the rear and attacked the personnel from the left side of the vehicle.
This is not the first time that security personnel have come under attack in Karachi. In December last year, two Military Police personnel were gunned down by attackers on motorcycles in an ambush near Gul Plaza on the busy M A Jinnah Road, less than a kilometer from the scene of recent gun attack.
PM, OTHERS CONDEMN ATTACK:
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack on security personnel in Karachi. He said that terrorists will not be allowed to destroy the peace of the city.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan also condemned the attack and vowed to bring the culprits to book.
Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad in a statement condemned the attack and termed it a conspiracy to create unrest in the city.
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Pervaiz Rashid also condemned the terrorist attack on the army personnel in Karachi.
In a statement, the minister said that such cowardly acts of terror can never weaken the resolve of the nation in the fight against militants and miscreants.
Our valiant soldiers are laying down their lives to take out terrorists and tear down their evil networks, he said. They are sacrificing their today to secure our tomorrow, he added.
Their sacrifices, the minister said, in the war against terrorism and for the cause of establishing peace will not go to waste.
The minister said he shared deep grief and sorrow with the families of those who were martyred in the incident.
