SP, three guards martyred in Quetta firing

QUETTA: Unidentified gunmen on motorcycles killed four policemen here on Thursday, the latest attack to target authorities in Balochistan.

Senior police official Abdul Razzaq Cheema said that police superintendent Mubarak Shah was on his way to the office along with three police guards when the gunmen opened fire on their vehicle.

“The attackers opened fire from different directions, killing Mubarak Shah and his three police guards,” Cheema said, adding that gunmen then fled the scene.Mohammad Tayyab, a senior Quetta government official, confirmed the attack and casualties.Both described the incident as “an act of terrorism”. No group has yet claimed responsibility.

The killing came four days after a bomb killed a high-profile police chief and his guard while wounding 11 others in Chaman.Pakistan media reported the Islamic State group had claimed the Chaman attack.

A faction of the Pakistani Taliban, known as Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, carried out the attack, according to the faction’s spokesman, Asad Mansur.Islamic State (IS) also claimed the attack on its Amaq News Agency website.

Jamaat-ur-Ahrar and IS have in the past jointly claimed responsibility for attacks in Pakistan.The Pakistani Taliban claimed that bombing in text messages and emails to media.

President Mamnoon Hussain strongly condemned the incident in Quetta in which Superintendent of Police Quaidabad Mubarak Shah and other police officials embraced martyrdom.The president expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the despicable attack.

He prayed for the eternal peace of departed souls and offered heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. He also prayed for the swift recovery of the injured and directed the authorities concerned to provide all possible medical treatment to them.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack.Expressing deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the attack, the prime minister prayed for eternal peace of the departed souls and grant of courage to the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss.

Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan also condemned the firing incident on a police car in Killi Deba area of Quetta and sought a report of the incident.In a statement issued here, he expressed condolence with the families of martyred police officers and prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed souls in eternal peace.The minister paid tribute to sacrifices rendered by the police.