Suhai Aziz Talpur heard of the attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi while driving to work. She rushed to the scene to find two of her colleagues dead, and a trio of insurgents attempting to blow their way into the building.
Her fast response and actions during the nearly two-hour assault on the diplomatic mission in the port city have been praised for saving countless lives.”The moment I arrived, an exchange of fire was taking place, blasts had been heard, smoke was emanating,” Talpur, an assistant superintendent of police, said.
Right away, she took up a position to fire at the attackers and began calling for reinforcements.”We started to advance inside the consulate and gradually neutralized the situation,” she said. Since the attack a picture of Talpur holding her pistol, flanked by commandos, has gone viral on social media. Her bravery has also earned her a nomination for the country’s highest award for police officers.
“The real credit goes to assistant sub-inspector Ashraf Dawood and constable Amir Khan who kept the attackers engaged and sacrificed their lives,” she said.
Once the attack ended, Talpur was among the first police officers to enter the mission and began reassuring the staff.”When I entered, there was a Chinese lady and three or four Pakistani men,” she recalled. “The Chinese lady hugged me and I told her ‘you are in safe hands, things are under control’.”
Published in Daily Times, November 26th 2018.