SHO of Preedy police station gunned down

Karachi
They say bad things come in threes. In the case of Preedy police station, this seems to be horrifically true.
Inspector Aijaz Ali Khawaja is the third ill-fated SHO of the station to have been killed in a terrorist attack over the past three years.
Last year in August, Ghazanfar Kazmi was killed under similar circumstances when he was driving his car. The year before, his predecessor, Agha Asad, was shot dead by his own subordinate.
SHO Khawaja — in civilian clothes, unarmed and unaccompanied — was driving his car (BAU-017) from his house in DHA Phase II Extension towards Preedy police station when armed men shot him dead on Korangi Road.
DIG South Dr Jamil Ahmed said SHO Khawaja died on the spot after he was hit by three bullets, one in the face and two in the chest. “It was definitely a targeted attack and political and religious elements could be behind it,” he said.
Defence Police officials quoting eye witnesses told The News that four armed men had followed the SHO. “When he reached near Caltex Petrol Station on Korangi Road, one of the armed men who had masked his face, opened fire on SHO Khawaja,” he said. “The car came to a halt and hit the vehicle in the front. The assailant got off the motorcycle again and pumped more bullets into him and then sped away on the motorcycle driven by his accomplice.”
Additional IG Karachi Ghulam Qadir Thebo said investigators had started collecting footage from closed-circuit cameras and were using modern methods to collect evidence to be able to catch the killers.
The city police chief said SHO Khawaja had been given a bullet-proof vehicle by the department for his protection because he had solved a number of high-profile cases and was also working on several more these days. “But he used his personal car and took no guards with him, making him an easy target for assassins,” he said. “We are working on two possibilities. Aijaz Khawaja was either killed by sectarian terrorists for being a Shia or by political terrorists, whose suspects and target killers were recently arrested by law-enforcement agencies.”
Thebo said the police had been able to trace the killers of the two previous Preedy SHOs, Ghazanfar Kazmi and Agha Asad. “Hopefully, the killers of SHO Khawaja will also be in police custody.”
Following the assassination of SHO Khawaja, Sindh IGP Ghulam Hyder Jamali constituted a four-member investigation team headed by DIG South Dr Jamil Ahmed. Other members of the investigation team are SSP South, SSP City and SSP Investigation South.
Senior police officials visited the scene of the crime after the attack. The investigators found six empty shells of 9mm pistol which were sent for forensic analysis.
The joint executive director of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre Dr Seemin Jamali told The News that SHO Preedy Aijaz Khawaja was dead when brought to the hospital. She confirmed that he had sustained three bullet wounds, one in the face and two in the chest.
SHO Khwaja was posted to the Preedy police station in 2014. Before that he served as the SHO of Zaman Town and Defence police stations.

Qaim condemns attack
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah while condemning the fatal terrorist attack on Preedy SHO Aijaz Ali Khawaja on Thursday, issued directions to the provincial police chief to conduct an inquiry into incident and identify any lapses in security within a week.
Directing the Sindh IGP to take steps for strengthening the security of police officers while on duty, the chief minister sternly directed to take to task any official found to be negligent in taking advanced security measures. In lieu of the string of armed attacks on the police and Rangers, the chief minister advised all police officers to cover any lapses in their security while on duty.
Praising the services of Preedy SHO for his services and termed it a great sacrifice for the nation. He said the war against terrorism will continue till the elimination of the last terrorist in the country and the government had no other option than to win it on behalf of the whole nation.