Karachi corps commander survives attack
dailytimes.com.pk
* Six soldiers, three policemen, one bystander dead
* Musharraf and Jamali express outrage over incident
By Hasan Mansoor and Intikhab Ali
KARACHI: Seven Pakistan Army soldiers, three policemen and a bystander were killed when unidentified people ambushed the Karachi corps commander’s motorcade near Clifton Bridge, military and police officials said on Thursday.
“At least six soldiers were killed in the ambush. Some policemen and a pedestrian were also killed,” Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan told Daily Times.
City police chief Tariq Jamil confirmed the death of three policemen and a pedestrian in the attack. Two of the policemen were identified as Sub-Inspector Hasan Asghar and Head Constable Mohammad Nazeer.
An attempt to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf, reported in April 2002, failed when an explosive-laden car en route President Musharraf’s motorcade did not explode. Officials said Corps Commander Lt Gen Ahsan Saleem Hayat left his Bath Island residence for Corps House at about 8:40am and unidentified people ambushed the convoy when it neared Clifton Bridge at about 8:45am.
Witnesses said seven to eight gunmen in a 16-seater Toyota Hiace van ambushed the motorcade with automatic weapons.
“The firing was very intense and lasted for at least 10 minutes,” a witness said.
“I was in my restaurant near the bridge when I heard gunshots,” Mohammad Yousaf, a cook at a local restaurant, told Daily Times.
He said he saw three policemen manning a police post near the bridge return fire. “I saw a policeman being shot and falling to the ground,” Yousaf said, adding, “Two other policemen were also shot. He said the gunmen escaped after the shooting ended. About 15 minutes later, someone threw a grenade next to the bridge that exploded and injured several people.
Later, a bomb disposal squad reached the scene, discovered a bomb attached to one of Clifton Bridge’s pylons and defused it. “The bomb weighed five kilogrammes and would have caused extensive damage had it gone off,” a bomb expert said. Some investigators said the plan to attack the corps commander was similar to the plot to assassinate President Musharraf last December in Rawalpindi.
“It was a well-planned attack. Conspirators used bombs and attackers to eliminate a senior army officer. Perhaps the general’s incidental delay in his routine affected their plan,” a senior official said. Some say military personnel might have facilitated the attack, as they did in the attack on President Musharraf six months ago. Police found the bullet-ridden Toyota van in the Defence View locality and a bloodstained AK-47 in the vehicle. They also discovered bloodstains inside the vehicle. Officials said the vehicle was snatched from Gulistan-e-Jauhar an hour before the attack. “We believe one or more attackers were injured in the exchange of fire,” a senior police official said.
“It is obvious that the attack was on the Karachi corps commander and those who don’t want Pakistan to prosper are behind it,” Maj Gen Sultan said. “It’s too early to identify the culprits. We are investigating,” he added. Asked whether the ambush was connected to the attack on President Musharraf, he said, “Let’s wait for the investigation.”
Clifton Bridge, about 500 metres from the US consulate building, was closed to traffic after the attack. Many military, paramilitary and police vehicles had cordoned off the bridge and all roads leading towards the US consulate building. Roads leading to the Pakistan American Cultural Centre, where a blast had killed a policeman and injured 32 others on May 26, were also blocked. The grenade blast at the bridge that connects the city to the commercial Clifton neighbourhood forced shopkeepers to shut their shops. The attackers shot at the corps commander’s motorcade from the van’s windows, witnesses said, adding that the convoy was stated to consist of six vehicles including a police mobile that was leading the others.
They said the attackers and the corps commander’s bodyguards exchanged fire that killed four people including the three policemen and a sweeper. The corps commander’s driver took evasive action and kept on driving the vehicle to escape the ambush, witnesses added. The attackers managed to escape too, they said.
According to reports, the bodies of the seven soldiers were taken to PNS Shifa where nobody was being allowed in. The victims were identified as Mohammad Shahid, Tariq Naveed, Mohammad Baig, Gulzar Mansoor, Mohabbat Khan, Mohammad Arif and Afzal Shakir.
Five others, identified as Karim Bux, Amjad Ali, Abida Hussain, Saleem Memon and Mohammad Afzal sustained bullet injuries.
Online adds: President Musharraf and Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali on Thursday condemned the incident and asked the provincial government and Interior Ministry to immediately apprehend the culprits involved. The president was informed about the incident at President House. He expressed grief and sorrow over the death of 11 people. Meanwhile, Mr Jamali called the incident an act of terrorism, saying the people involved in such incidents were not linked to Islam or Pakistan and were humanity’s enemies.
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