KARACHI: Masked gunmen riding a motorcycle gunned down two military policemen near Gull Plaza at MA Jinnah Road here yesterday, a rare attack on the army that could indicate the beginning of a push-back against a tightening crackdown on violence. The soldiers were sitting on a military jeep near Gull Plaza when two armed men riding a motorcycle fired on the military policemen from the backside of the vehicle,” said district south police chief deputy inspector general (DIG) Dr Jameel Ahmed when contacted. “This is a very serious incident but we will track the attackers down soon,” said Dr Jameel.

One of the soldiers died on the spot while another succumbed to his injuries during treatment at Civil Hospital. The gunmen, however, managed to flee after committing the crime. The deceased were later identified as Lance Naik Rashid and Havaldar Arshad Mehmood. “Both of them were shot once in their heads,” stated the initial medico-legal report. Their bodies were later moved to the PNS Shifa Hospital. Witnesses said as soon as a soldier got back after shopping and sat on a jeep, the armed assailants already present on the scene sprayed bullets on them. The victims’ jeep was stuck in traffic on MA Jinnah Road when they came under attack from behind, according to officials. The details were confirmed in a statement by the military which branded the shooting a ‘terrorist act’. While paying tribute to the dead soldiers, Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif said the attack was aimed at undermining operations against the militants. “Such terrorist attacks...cannot shake our national resolve to root out terrorism from our soil once and for all,” he said in a statement.

Following the incident, a large number of police, Rangers and the military officials rushed to the spot and inquired about the tragedy. The investigators found five 9mm cartridge cases from the crime scene. The police investigators were also trying to get help of the CCTV cameras installed on MA Jinnah Road to identify the culprits, besides planning to conduct the geo-fencing. Police also obtained the forensic report of the empty shells recovered from the crime scene which suggested that the same weapon had been used in 11 more incidents in the past. The same weapon was used in a targeted attack on the Rangers officials in which four soldiers lost their lives when armed motorcyclists attacked them while they were performing security duty outside a mosque during Friday prayers in Baldia Town on November 20. Similarly, four cops, three doctors, a local leader of Awami National Party and two civilians were killed by the same weapon in 2014 and current year.

Preedy police have registered a case under Anti-Terrorism Act against unidentified militants. Police are frequently targeted by militants and criminal gangs in the volatile city of around 20 million, but attacks on the military are rarer. The city is home to the stock exchange and central bank and is plagued by political, ethnic and sectarian violence. Overall levels of militant, criminal and sectarian-linked violence have decreased significantly since paramilitary forces began a sweeping crackdown in 2013. Security officials say many politicians in the city have links to violent gangs, operating like a mafia to maintain their hold on power. Two years ago, the military launched a crackdown targeting suspected militants and violent criminals.

Staff Reporter from Islamabad adds: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has condemned the firing incident on the personnel of military police on MA Jinnah Road in Karachi yesterday. The Prime Minister said, “We will not be deterred by such cowardly terrorist attacks on our brave Jawans,” adding, “Peace and stability is the future of Karachi, which is because of the national resolve against terrorists and great sacrifices made by our Jawans.” Sympathising deeply with the families of the martyred, the Prime Minister prayed for eternal peace of the departed souls. The Prime Minister prayed to Almighty Allah to grant courage to the bereaved families to bear the irreparable loss; saying that the martyred have sacrificed their lives for a peaceful and prosperous Pakistan.