Five killed in separate police encounters in Karachi

KARACHI: At least five suspected criminals were killed in separate operations by police in Karachi late Monday night.

According to police, the encounters took place in the crime-infested areas of Lyari and Mochko.

Officials claimed the suspects were wanted for extortion and kidnapping for ransom, and were linked to Lyari-based criminal gangs.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) City Fida Hussain said police forces were carrying out a search operation in Baghdadi area of Lyari when suspects opened fire on the law enforcers.

He said that three suspected criminals were killed when police fire back in response.

A similar encounter took place in the precincts of Mochko police station in which two suspected criminals were killed.

Hussain claimed that weapons recovered from the criminals included two SMG guns and grenade launchers.

Pillion riding banned

Meanwhile, the Sindh home ministry has imposed a ban on pillion-riding from midnight Monday until March 23.

The provincial government says it has taken the measure to thwart any untoward incident as a new anti-polio vaccination campaign is conducted in the metropolis.

The ban has been imposed on the recommendation of Karachi police chief Ghulam Qadir Thebo. A notification from the home ministry has been issued in this regard.

Journalists and elderly would be exempted from the ban.