Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Tuesday warned of more terrorism-related incidents in the federal capital after a policeman was shot dead and two others were injured at a check post.
The Monday night gun battle, in which two militants were also shot dead, started when the gunmen, riding a motorcycle, opened fire on a police check-point in the vicinity of the Karachi Company police station.
“This was not an incident of dacoity or theft. Terrorists opened fire on them [police officials]. This is a signal for us that terror incidents have started taking place in Islamabad,” he said while speaking to journalists after the martyred police official’s funeral prayers.
He said authorities needed to remain alert as the incident was “purely of terrorism”. The authorities had tracked down the “sleeper cell” of the terrorists through their motorcycle, the minister added.
“Islamabad police and other forces are on alert,” he continued.
Shahid Zaman, a senior Islamabad Police official, also told AFP the incident was “an act of terrorism”.
The martyred police official has been identified as Head Constable Munawwar, while the injured are Amin and Rashid, a spokesperson for the police said.
The spokesperson said that the wounded officers have been admitted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).
“This is the first terror-related incident in the country […] but police, through this encounter, have proved that they are ready to lay down their lives no matter what comes their way,” the interior minister added.
