Daily Times

KARACHI: Two employees of Federal Board of Revenue Regional Tex Office (RTO-III) were gunned down by the four terrorists in an incident of target killing on Monday in Gulstan-e-Juhar area.

Martyred employees were posted as guards at security duty at the main gate who tried to retaliate but could not do so as they had defective weapons.

DIG Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Sannullah Abbasi told Daily Times that its the same group which was apparently was involved in the terror attacks that has been killing police officials in the city since last few months and this group has been using the names of Ansar-ul-Shariah Pakistan and TTP Qari Shakirullah but is beig handled by elements in Afghanistan as the Law Enforcement Agencies have intercepted calls from Afghanistan and collected some solid forensic evidences.

According to the officials guards were performing security duties while wearing uniforms having resemblance with the police uniform at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in Karachi who were killed in a targeted attack on Monday early evening.

The Regional Office of the FBR where the unfortunate incident took place is located at Block 17, Gulistan-e-Jauhar area within the limits of Sharae Faisal police station.

Witnesses have informed that at least four armed men riding on two motorcycles were behind the incident. “At first, two armed motorcyclists came close to them. One of them opened fired at the victims. Later two more came and joined them,” said the witness, Imran. “The attackers had covered their faces with helmets.”

The armed men later easily managed to escape after committing the crime.

The victims were later identified as Tanzeemul Huda, and Faqira Ghunda Amal.

Reacting on information, extra contingent of law enforcers immediately reached the site and collected the evidence. District East SSP Irfan Baloch said that both the victims were shot multiple times and died shortly after the incident. The police have recovered at least eight empty shells of the 9mm and .30bore pistols from the crime scene. The shells would be sent to forensic division of the Sindh police to check their criminal record, said the SSP Baloch. The police was also trying to get the footages from the CCTV recording and the statements of the witnesses.

The incident took an unusual turn when the family of one of the victims, Faqira and the FBR employees started staging protest by laying the victims’ bodies at the FBR office. The protesters informed that one the deceased was a private guard while Faqira was the sweeper at the FBR.

About the incident, an official of FBR has said that two IRS-FBR Officials Tanzeem and Faqeer have been martyred in terrorist attack on RTO-III no Karachi.It is an attempt to create panic in only revenue generation arm of the Federal Government of Pakistan.

“The martyred guards tried to open fire but could not fire back due to old weapons” he further informed.

“A sweeper was posted as a policeman?” questioned Faqira’s relative Sanaullah while staging a protest. “A sweeper has been deputed on security duty while wearing a police uniform and providing him with a gun without any training. The criminal case should be registered against those who are responsible for this.”

The protesters blamed the chief security officer over the matter. On the other hand, the chief security officer Ikhlaq contradicted the allegation leveled against him. “We have already shortage of strength and I have asked the authorities concerned to enhance the security personal but no serious action was taken,” he said. “I assigned Faqira for a security duty few months ago after he always saluted and insisted me.”

Police investigators believe that the militant group could have been behind the incident. The victims were apparently targeted as they wore uniforms like police. This is not the first time that such incident has occurred in a city in a current year as earlier a Police Foundation personnel was killed who wore police uniform in Sharae Faisal months ago. The group who killed the Police Foundation personnel was also involved in the attack on Traffic police wardens at Abul Hassan Isphani Road and the killings of policemen of Awami Colony police station near Darul Uloom in Korangi and the group belongs to the Mufti Shakir of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan who has recently been killed by the Counter Terrorism Department.

Police investigators believe that the recent attack and killings of two at FBR office could be a part of the series of attacks on police in Karachi.

Sindh Home minister Sohail Anwar Siyal and IGP Sindh Allah Dino Khowaja also took a notice of the incident and sought a report from Additional IG Karachi and DIG Zone East over the incident.

No militant organisation has claimed the responsibility of the incident. Sharae Faisal SHO Imitiaz Mir said that the case was being investigated from different angles. No case was registered till the filing of this news story.

Published in Daily Times, August 29^th 2017.