KARACHI: The Martyred police personals over looked the SOPs and became a soft target for terrorists of banned outfit in SITE Area on Friday. As the Police personnel have been directed neither to use uniform after duty nor sit on hotels for eating and drinking during duties. Officials of Sindh Police had issued a Standard Operating procedure (SOP) to all police personnel to adopt new directives during their duties while on deployment on Pickets and Snap checking in the city, after deadly attack on police vehicle leaving two dead and one injured on 21st May. On Friday, in a tragic incident after the series of bombings in Quetta and Parachinar, the terrorist outfits targeted Karachi and killed at least four policemen in an act of targeted killing. The incident took place near Habib Bank Chowrangi. “The four policemen were busy in having Iftar at a hotel when the armed terrorists attacked them,” said District West SSP Nasir Aftab. “All the cops were shot in their heads with closed range and died shortly after the incident.” Their bodies were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities. Extra contingent of law enforcers including Rangers and police reached the spot and cordoned off the locality to inquire about the incident and to collect the evidences. The police also recovered over a dozen empty shells of pistols. “The terrorists were apparently more than four and wore helmets,” said SSP Aftab. “They are targeting soft target as the cops were busy in having iftar and the terrorists took advantage of it.” The victims included a police mobile officer, ASI Muhammad Yousuf, mobile driver, constables Israr and two constables – Shabbir and Khalid. No case has been registered as the police officials said that they were investigating the case while no arrests have also been made. At onside, the law enforcers were busy in inquiring the incident; another similar incident took place in the outskirts of the city where two policemen who were later identified as Kamal Din and Rahim Buksh were wounded when armed terrorists attacked them in the Ibrahim Hyderi area. The injured cops were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medical treatment where doctors termed their condition critical. Police officials have informed that the police personnel were conducting raid at the criminal hideout when the criminals attacked and injured them. Sindh home minister Sohail Anwar Siyal and IGP Sindh Allah Dino Khowaja also took the notice of the incident and ordered the police officials concerned to take stern action against those involved in the incident and also ordered them to make a strategy to stop such incidents in near future. It is pertinent to mention that on 21st May when at least six terrorists targeted a police mobile leaving two dead the IG Sindh directed all the DSPs and SHOs to brief the police personnel about the points included in new SOP so that the protection level can be increased for police personnel during their duties and precious lives can be safeguarded. The SOP included with 10 directions from high officials, the letter reads as follows “all the personnel will be active and on their toe while duty and no ignorance would be tolerated, all the personnel would wear the bullet proof jackets and helmets during duties, on every point of duty at least three police personnel will be deployed so that they can protect each other, while patrolling one personnel will be at standing position as sniper on police Van, CCTV Cameras of all police stations will be brought in working condition, police guards deputed on the main gates of police stations will check the identity thoroughly before to let any one in to the station, the personnel deputed on the roof of station as sniper will be active and on toe, if patrolling Van available with the police station would be single then a squad comprising 2 motorcycles will be deployed with police Van, all the personnel should try to avoid from setting on hotels for eating and drinking while on duty, after completion of duty timing the police personnel will not wear uniforms or police pants while going back to home they will use other plan and normal cloths. Police officials directed that if police personnel fail to act upon the SOPs then departmental action will be taken against relevant the SHOs since they are responsible for the implementation of new directions. Published in Daily Times, June 25th, 2017.