KARACHI: Slain police officer Chaudhry Aslam Khan and two police guards killed by a Taliban bombing were laid to rest in Karachi on Friday in a funeral attended by relatives, politicians, high-ranking officials.
The funeral prayers were offered under strict security arrangements at the Aziz Bhatti police headquarters, and Aslam's burial was later conducted at the Gizri graveyard.
Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Corps Commander Karachi Lieutenant General Muhammad Ijaz Chaudhry, provincial minister Sharjeel Inam Memon and high-ranking police officials were present during Aslam's funeral prayer.
Former president Asif Ali Zardari later also visited Aslam's grave at the Gizri cemetery.
Investigation begins
Three teams, headed by DIG Zafar Bukhari, constituted to investigate the bombing surveyed the site of the attack and collected evidence.
Investigators also sent parts of damaged and destroyed vehicles collected from the location to a forensic laboratory.
Moreover, investigators believe some of the body parts recovered from the attack site belong to a suicide attacker and DNA tests will be conducted to determine further.
Furthermore, statements of those wounded in yesterday’s attack have also been recorded.
It was earlier reported that the police had finalised the preliminary report of the investigation and the senior officer's autopsy report had also been prepared.
Aslam, who had survived numerous assassination attempts in the past, died when the bomb targeted his convoy on the Lyari Expressway. The two police guards identified as Sub-Inspector Mohammad Kamran and Constable Farhan Ahmed also lost their lives while five cops were injured in the attack near Essa Nagri area.
The attack on Aslam came hours after his team shot dead three suspected militants in an alleged encounter in a militancy-infested locality of Karachi's Manghopir.
The blast was so powerful that it hurled Aslam's bullet-proof vehicle into the air. The vehicle landed on another track of the road.
Aslam’s other vehicle, which is bomb-proof, had developed a fault a few days ago and was sent for repairs.
Initial findings had suggested that the bomb had been placed in a thick cemented barrier near a ramp of the expressway. When Aslam's caravan reached the ramp, the bomb went off.
The officer was going to his office in Garden area from his residence in Defence Society. His body was badly damaged and one portion of his head was blown away by the massive force of the blast.
The Mohmand agency chapter of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack.
