Police investigating how terrorists with explosive jackets entered KPO premises

Following the terrorist attack at the Karachi Police Office (KPO) on Friday evening, a police high-up told The News that security at the KPO was already on high alert and it was being investigated how the terrorists managed to enter the building’s premises.

“Footage is being obtained to see how the terrorists managed to enter the building,” the officer said. “It will also be verified whether the police resisted or the terrorists did not give them a chance to resist. It needs to be ensured that the security arrangements at such places should be such that they immediately stop any such attack because in such attacks, terrorists arrive with full force and use grenades and sophisticated weapons.”

In recent months, the country has been hit by a wave of terrorist attacks. Before the KPO attack, terrorists targeted a mosque in Peshawar. The outlaws also attempted to carry out major terrorist activities through suicide bombers in Islamabad and Peshawar.

The KPO echoed with the slogan of ‘Sindh Police Zindabad’ shortly after the police and Rangers managed to clear the head office of the Karachi police from the terrorists and took its control back.

Despite the commendable victory of the law enforcers, the question how the terrorists laden with explosive jackets and sophisticated weapons managed to enter the premises of such a key office in spite of the fact that security was already put on high alert across the province following the recent deadly bombing at a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Line.

In the second major terrorist attack of 2023 in the country, terrorists managed to storm the head office of the Karachi police on Friday evening. The attack occurred just within 18 days of the deadly attack on the mosque located in the premises of the Peshawar’s Police Line that claimed over one hundred lives of policemen and wounded over 200 others during the Zuhr prayers.

Although the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) denied their involvement in the KPO attack, there were serious threats of similar attacks as the Mohmand chapter of the TTP had warned of a series of attacks in the country.

After the deadly blast in Peshawar on January 30, Sindh Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon ordered a high alert throughout the province. He had also ordered extra patrolling, stricter snap checking and productive police picketing and blockades on entry and exit routes of the city.

The IGP had also directed his subordinates throughout the province to make successful crackdowns on criminals after conducting recce, surveillance and advance intelligence collection in their respective areas.

But despite all such directives, the terrorists breached security and managed to enter the KPO building where they kept the entire force of police and Rangers engaged for around four hours.

It should be noted that after the Peshawar blast, Inspector General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Moazzam Jah Ansari during a press conference had conceded that there was a clear security breach in Peshawar despite multiple checkpoints.

Once again, after the KPO attack, orders have been issued to increase security at all police stations and other sensitive areas and buildings of Karachi. A strict guard has been placed at the gates of the police stations in Karachi. The doors of some police stations have been closed. One hopes that the measures announced by the law enforcement agencies work and the city does not witness any similar untoward incident in coming weeks and months.