RAWALPINDI: An unidentified individual opened fire on a mobile army checkpost on Marble Factory Road in Westridge Saturday night, killing two people and injuring two others.

The police have described the incident, in which one civilian and one military official were killed, as targeted killing. The surviving victims, identified as 19-year-old Asif Khan and 21-year-old Shahid Mehmood, were moved to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital where doctors said they are in critical condition as they both underwent surgery.

Military authorities, police and personnel from the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) have visited the site of the shooting to collect evidence and conduct interviews as part of their investigation. The CTD has also registered a case under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The shooting occurred when a military official at the checkpost signalled a rickshaw to stop and asked the driver and passenger for identification documents at around 11pm on Saturday. While the official was speaking to the rickshaw driver, another individual from a nearby shop came up to him and said he knew the driver because he routinely passed through this area.

Police said that during their conversation, a man carrying a semi-machine gun opened fire at the rickshaw and then fled on a motorcycle with one other person.

Four people were critically injured in the shooting, and when they were taken to a hospital army official Mohammad Usman and Sajjad Ahmed, a civilian, were pronounced dead. The survivors were said to be in critical condition as they had received multiple bullet injuries.

Asif Khan has been identified as the rickshaw driver who was stopped at the checkpost. Because he was not carrying his CNIC, he called his cousin Shahid Mehmood, who was waiting for passengers in his own rickshaw to bring his CNIC and show it to the army official who had signalled him.

Waqas Khan, Asif Khan’s brother, quoted him as saying that he was speaking to the army official when someone opened fire at them, killing the army official and a civilian and injuring him and another driver.

Asif Khan was shot twice, once in his arm and once in his hip, while Shahid Mehmood was shot five times.

Waqas Khan said his family is from Abbottabad and have been living in Rawalpindi for 20 years.

Separately, four pedestrians were injured during a clash between two groups in Sadiqabad. The police said one Chan Shah had started fighting with someone over a petty issue. Shah ran and took refuge in a police inspector’s house nearby.

His rival saw him going into the house and him and his accomplices opened fire at the house.

Four pedestrians were injured during the fire including Asad Ullah, Mohammad Faisal, Abdul Rasheed and Ali Raza. They were moved to the Benazir Bhutto Hospital where one of the victims is said to be in critical condition.

In an unrelated incident, an Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) official, Amjad, was injured when some unidentified persons travelling in a car opened fire on an ANF team in order to rescue an accomplice who was captured by the fore during a raid near Dubai Plaza on 6th Road.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2018