KARACHI: A senior counter-terrorism official and a passerby were killed in a gun attack in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, police officials said on Sunday.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ali Raza was posted in investigation cell of counter-terrorism department (CTD) of Sindh provincial police.
Speaking to the media, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Asif Ejaz Shaikh said two attackers had opened fire on the police officer in Karimabad area.
“It’s hard to say anything at this time, but all CTD officers have been receiving threats,” he said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Police surgeon Dr. Summayia Syed told Arab News that DSP Ali Raza had received multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, neck and head.
“The bullets were removed,” she told Arab News. “The family didn’t allow a complete postmortem.”
A 38-year-old passerby, Waqar, who worked as a guard with a private security company, was also injured in the attack and succumbed to his injuries during treatment at Jinnah Hospital.
“Waqar had sustained serious gunshot injuries to the chest, flank and inguinal region,” Syed added.
DSP Raza had been actively involved in operations against drug gangs based in Karachi’s Lyari area, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and various sectarian groups, according to Raja Umar Khattab, a senior police officer and a longtime colleague of Raza.
“Ali Raza was a brilliant officer with several successful operations against outlawed groups to his credit,” Khattab told Arab News. “Today, the CTD has lost one of its key team members.”
Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial hub, has had a decades-long history of violence, especially against the law enforcers, by militant groups as well as political, drug and other mafias.
In 2013, the then government of three-time former premier Nawaz Sharif had sanctioned a joint operation against militants and violent criminals in the city, which significantly brought down the crime rate in the subsequent years.
However, sporadic incidents of targeted killings are still reported, while street crimes have continued unabated in the city of more than 20 million.
Senior counter-terrorism official, passerby killed in Karachi gun attack — police
https://arab.news/5dqg2
Senior counter-terrorism official, passerby killed in Karachi gun attack — police
- Deputy Superintendent of Police Ali Raza was posted in investigation cell of Sindh counter-terrorism department
- The officer had been actively involved in operations against drug gangs, Pakistani Taliban and sectarian groups
Pakistan arrests suspect arriving from Cambodia amid crackdown on human smuggling
- Suspect worked at an “online fraud company” in Cambodia, later started smuggling people from Pakistan, says FIA
- Pakistan has intensified crackdown against human smugglers after hundreds of migrants drowned near Pylos in 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday said it had arrested a key suspect involved in smuggling humans who had arrived from Cambodia, alleging he was also part of an international fraud network.
The suspect, identified as Zainullah, was arrested by FIA officials when he arrived in the southern port city of Karachi from Cambodia.
Zainullah had traveled from Pakistan to Cambodia in September 2024, a press release issued by the agency said.
“He worked at an online fraud company in Cambodia and later became involved as an agent in recruiting individuals from Pakistan,” the FIA said.
The FIA said it recovered images of multiple individuals’ passports, payment receipts and bank transaction records after extracting data from Zainullah’s phone.
It said the suspect received money through personal bank accounts and a cryptocurrency account.
“The suspect has been handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, Karachi, for further legal proceedings,” the FIA said.
“Further investigation is underway.”
Pakistan intensified action against illegal migration in 2023 after hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank off the Greek town of Pylos, one of the deadliest boat disasters in the Mediterranean.
Authorities say they continue to target networks sending citizens abroad through dangerous routes, following heightened scrutiny at airports and a series of arrests involving forged documents.
Pakistan’s interior ministry said this week illegal migration to Europe has declined by 47 percent this year after its nationwide crackdown, saying that more than 1,700 human smugglers have been arrested in 2025.
