Karachi cops being targeted ‘under the watchful eye of al-Qaeda’

Karachi
Under the supervision of al-Qaeda, three separate groups of highly-trained and motivated terrorists associated with banned Jihadi organisations are attacking and murdering police officials in Karachi, especially in the West, Central and Malir districts, said Crime Investigation Department (CID) city chief Raja Umer Khattab on Monday. “Their basic aim is to kill as many police officials in Karachi as possible.”
Khattab said information gathered by the CID’s ground operatives revealed that two teams of target killers associated with banned Jihadi outfits were operating in the West Range of the police (one each for the West and Central districts) and another team of assassins was active in Malir and the adjoining localities of Korangi. “These assassins belong to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, its Swat chapter, Jundullah and other groups.”
He said al-Qaeda had young terrorists in Karachi and Hyderabad who regularly moved between the two cities to head the three teams tasked with targeting police officials, adding that the objective of these teams was to demoralise the Karachi police, which was on the forefront of the operation against terrorists, and there was also the revenge factor.

Police easy target
Karachi police officials, especially head constables and constables, are easy targets for trained terrorists because of the cops’ long duty hours, lack of anti-terror training and absence of protective gear, including bulletproof vests, steel helmets and small firearms, said the CID officer. “They are on duty for at least 12 hours a day, and after patrolling the streets for six to seven hours, they are exhausted and unable to defend themselves.”
Khattab said most of the police officials killed last year and in the first 18 days of the new year were not wearing bulletproof vests, while many of them were shot in the head. “Bulletproof vests protect people’s vital organs from damage if they are shot in the chest or back. Steel helmets can prevent fatal injuries to the head.”
He said that while patrolling police officials have been provided with sub-machine guns (SMGs), if one of them is riding a motorcycle while his partner carries two SMGs, both of them could become easy targets for a trained assassin carrying a 9mm pistol.
The CID chief said patrolling police officials required small firearms as secondary weapons so that they could defend themselves against close-range attacks.

Lazy senior cops
Khattab criticised SSP (Central) Noman Siddiqui for “failing to protect the lives of medical professionals, policemen and the common man in his jurisdiction”.
He said it was the responsibility of every SSP to provide protection to the lives and properties of the citizens in their respective jurisdictions. “Instead of sitting in an air-conditioned room, he (Siddiqui) should have visited the areas under his control to check the deployment of cops. Merely visiting the crime scene after an incident would do no good.”
The CID officer said District Central was the worst-hit as regards sectarian killings and assassinations of police officials, as majority of the cops killed last year and in the current year were targeted in the district. “The SSPs and SPs would have to personally assume the responsibility of monitoring, as leaving everything to the SHOs would not be enough. Even the DSPs don’t leave their offices, but when the SSP would be out in the field, everyone would be alert.” — M. Waqar Bhatti