11 Shia police recruits gunned down in Quetta
08-6-2003

QUETTA, June 8: At least 11 police trainees were killed and 9 others injured when two armed men opened fire on their vehicle on Sariab Road on Sunday evening.

The trainees were on their way to police training school in a private pickup.It could be a sectarian attack as the victims had no enmity with anybody, SSP Quetta Rahmatullah Niazi said.

Sources said 23 police trainees visited their homes on Sunday morning. After meeting their families they gathered at a place in the city and hired a pickup to go back to training school.

The pickup when reached near Tariq Hospital at Sariab Road two armed men riding on a motorcycle opened fire on the vehicle, killing 11 recruits and injuring nine others. Later, the assailants fled.

Soon after the incident police reached the spot and removed the victims to the Civil Hospital. "Eleven recruits died on the spot," Dr Abdullah of the Civil Hospital said and added that condition of three injured was serious.

"We were half-a-kilometre from the training school when I heard a fire and then saw a bearded man firing on the vehicle with a Kalashnikov," Zakir Hussain, a police recruit, told this correspondent in Civil Hospital.

"I was sitting in the rear portion of the vehicle and as soon as the firing began I took refuge under the seat of the vehicle which saved me from bullets," he added.

Zakir Hussain, who escaped unhurt in attack, said when firing stopped he jumped out of the vehicle and requested the people to take the victims to the hospital but the people took no action.

"The attackers had not masked their faces at the time of attack," a witness Ahmed Ali told reporters.According to hospital sources, all victims received multiple bullets wounds.

Soon after the incident, hundreds of people belonging to the Hazara tribe gathered at the hospital and started chanting slogans against the government.Governor Balochistan Lt-Gen Abdul Qadir (retired) and Provincial Minister for Sports and Forest Younas Changezi visited the hospital. The governor expressed his sorrow over the incident and ordered the authorities to arrest the killers within 24 hours.

He condemned the terrorist attack and described it an inhuman act. He assured the people of Hazara tribe that all possible efforts would be made for the early arrest of the accused.

Younas Changezi also condemned the killing of police recruits and said he would quit his cabinet post in protest.The SSP Quetta, Rahmatullah Niazi, told reporters that all entry and exit points had been sealed, while teams had been constituted for the arrest of culprits. He said terrorists would be arrested soon.

Meanwhile, the governor has announced Rs500,000 compensation each for the families of those who died in the incident while injured would paid Rs250,000 each.

The police recruits killed in the firing were identified as Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Jawad, Abdul Hussain, Mohammad Nabi, Sajjad Ali, Abid Ali, Mohammad Baqar, Pervez Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Zakir Hussain and Ghulam Abbas,

The injured included Mohammad Arif, Ali Raza, Abdul Aziz, Abdul Hussain, Mohammad Ali, Akbar Ali, Ghulam Hussain, Shaukat Ali and Mohammad Aqeel.President of a trade organization Amaruddin Agha has announced that a complete strike would be observed in the city on Monday to protest against the tragic incident.

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Thousands attend 12 police recruits' funeral
09-6-2003

QUETTA: Twelve police recruits were laid to rest in Hazara Graveyard on Monday afternoon amid moving scenes.

The Namaz-e-Janaza was offered at the Hazara Graveyard, led by Allama Yaqoob Yawasli at around 4:30 pm. Thousands of people belonging to Hazara community attended the funeral. Balochistan Governor Lt-Gen (retd) Abdul Quadir, provincial ministers Sardar Sanaullah Zehri and Col (retd) Younus Changezai, MPA Shafiq Ahmad Khan, Chief Secretary Maj (retd) Ashraf Nasar, IGP Dr Shoaib Suddel, leaders of political parties, teachers, bureaucrats, shopkeepers and others were also present.

The Quetta city wore a deserted look on the first day of three-day morning over the Sunday's killing but the roads leading to the Hazara Graveyard were jam-packed as people from far-flung areas took part in the recruits' last rites.

Earlier, thousands of people thronged the Civil Hospital, Quetta, to carry the coffins of the deceased policemen to their last journey. The funeral procession reached the graveyard from Hazara Imambargah Nichari after passing through various roads. After the Namaz-e-Janaza the bodies were buried with full protocol.

Speaking at the funeral ceremony, Governor Abdul Quadir assured that the culprits involved in the killings would be apprehended and treated as per law at all costs. "The government will leave no stone unturned to nab the culprits," he said. The governor announced Rs 0.5 million compensation to the family members of each of the deceased and Rs 250,000 to each injured. He also announced that two government jobs would be provided to each deceased's family members.

The local police and Frontier Corps (FC) had made special arrangement. Heavy contingents of the FC and police had been deployed to maintain law and order. No untoward incident was reported. All the major business centres and markets of the city remained closed throughout the day in protest against the killings. The Hazara tribe, Anjuman-e-Tajiran Balochistan (ATB) and All Markets Association had extended their call for shutter-down.

Meanwhile, the Balochistan cabinet on Monday announced to conduct a judicial inquiry into the killings of 12 police recruits in a Sariab incident by a judge of the Balochistan High Court (BHC).

The meeting, chaired by Senior Minister Maulana Abdul Wasay, expressed deep grief and concern over the killings of police recruits and constituted a committee headed by provincial home and tribal affairs minister to review different aspects of the incident.

According to the decision, the cabinet committee will comprise provincial ministers Mir Asim Kurd, Sardar Masood Looni, Syed Ahsan Shah, Hafiz Hamdullah, Col (retd) Younus Changezi and Chief Secretary Maj (retd) Muhammad Ashraf Nasar. The committee will submit its reports in the next cabinet meeting on June 12.

The meeting decided to suspend superintendent of police (SP), deputy superintendent of police and SHO of the police station concerned, where the incident took place. The cabinet endorsed the decision of the meeting that was held on Sunday night under the chairmanship of Governor Abdul Quadir to grant compensation to the Sariab incident victims.

The meeting strongly condemned the terrorist act and observed that the incident was not a dispute between tribes of sects but it was a conspiracy to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the city.

The meeting further observed that the government was fully aware of its responsibilities of ensuring security of the life and property of the citizens and had adopted various measures to discourage the recurrence of such incidents.

On the occasion, Home and Tribal Affairs Minister Sardar Sanaullah Zehri assured that the culprits involved in the killings would be apprehended soon as all measures were being adopted to trace them out.

Earlier, Chief Secretary Maj (retd) Ashraf Nasar briefed the meeting about the latest developments and said that police had arrested over 16 accused for investigations and raids were being conducted for more arrests.

The meeting also offered Fateha for the departed souls and courage for the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss. Agencies add: Police on Monday prepared sketches of persons, who killed 12 under-training policemen. The sketches were prepared with the help of the injured and survivors of the incident. A police official told APP that the sketches of two alleged killers would help in the investigation and their arrest.

DIG Humayun Jogezai said that police had rounded up at least 18 members of the outlawed Sipah-e-Sahaba, Pakistan (SSP) in overnight raids in Quetta. "Last night we made a few raids in Quetta," said Jogezai, adding 18 people had been detained. "Now they are part of our investigation."

Police officials said two police teams were investigating the case, while security had been stepped up at places of worship across the city and in business areas. Earlier, Governor Abdul Quadir visited the Sandamen Hospital on Monday and enquired about the health of injured police recruits. He instructed the hospital authorities to provide best available treatment to the injured.

Calling the incident an inhuman act, the governor expressed profound grief over the loss of precious lives and strongly condemned the terrorism. He appealed to the people to remain calm to fail ulterior motives of the evil forces. He also asked the authorities concerned to arrest the culprits within 24 hours.

Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has strongly condemned the dastardly act of terrorism in Quetta on Sunday, which claimed 12 lives of under-training policemen. The prime minister held a meeting with Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yousuf at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad on Monday and observed that the killing of police trainees appeared to be the handiwork of those elements, who wanted to destabilise the country.

He directed the provincial government to intensity efforts to track down the culprits as early as possible and keep strict vigil on the law and order situation, with a view to avoiding the recurrence of such incidents.

 Four Lashkar-e-Jhangvi men arrested in Lahore
09-6-2003

LAHORE: Police on Monday arrested four activists of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) wanted for sectarian murders, and recovered arms and ammunition from them, an officer said.

"We have arrested four LJ terrorists in Lahore wanted in 14 sectarian murders and recovered grenades and automatic weapons from their possession," police officer Raja Khalid Farooq told AFP. "We have recovered eight grenades, three Kalashnikov rifles, one pistol and 550 rounds of bullet during the raids in different parts of Lahore," Farooq said.

Muhammad Saeed, one of those arrested, had a reward of Rs 600,000 for his arrest, Farooq said. In separate raids over the weekend police had arrested three key activists of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and discovered a 10-man hit-list, intelligence officials told Reuters.

They said Abdul Samad, a bomb specialist who had trained hundreds of people in neighbouring Afghanistan during Taliban rule there, was arrested from Lahore on Saturday. This led to the arrests on Sunday night of two more militants, one of whom had the hit-list, which included four police officials.

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Lashkar-e-Jhangvi activist set on bail in Toba Tek Singh
09-6-2003

TOBA TEK SINGH, June 9: Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Javed on Monday granted bail to banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi activist Saeed Anwar alias Commando.

The LJ activist was arrested by Rajana police in January this year from an unknown place.In 1998, Rajana police had raided Chak 335-GB and seized sophisticated weapons. They arrested four people, who revealed during investigation that they bought these weapons from Saeed Anwar.

During four and-a-half years, all the arrested were acquitted by Faisalabad anti-terrorist court, but Commando was declared proclaimed offender.After his arrest, the challan was submitted in the same court. Failing to find any clue to his activities, the judge ordered his release.

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