QUETTA - At least four policemen were killed when unidentified gunmen opened fire at their vehicle in Quetta’s Pashtoonabad area on Saturday.
The policemen were on a routine patrol in the Pashtunabad area when unidentified gunmen on motorcycles opened indiscriminate fire on their van, killing Sub Inspector Ali Muhammad and driver Abdullah on the spot. Another two cops, Abdullah and Attaullah, sustained injuries in the incident. They were rushed to hospital, but could not survive.
Reportedly, four policemen were on a routine patrol when miscreants attacked their vehicle, killing two of them on the spot. The two injured policemen were rushed to Quetta Civil Hospital where they succumbed to their injuries. The police said the assailants succeeded in escaping unhurt after carrying out the attack.
Soon after the incident, the police and Frontier Corps personnel reached the site and started an investigation into the incident. Shops in the area were closed following the attack.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack and offered condolences to the bereaved families. In a message, he said such incidents could not weaken the government’s resolve to eradicate terrorism and extremism from the country. He directed the authorities concerned to apprehend the culprits at the earliest.
The attack came a week after the terrorists stormed two passenger coaches in Mastung district and killed at least 22 people. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Agencies add: Senior police officers, Abdur Razzaq Cheema and Aitzaz Goraya confirmed the incident and said it was an act of terrorism.
Balochistan which borders Iran and Afghanistan is also hit by sectarian strife and Islamist violence. Resource-rich Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan, but its seven million inhabitants have long complained they do not receive a fair share of its gas and mineral wealth.