ISLAMABAD, Aug 23: Two persons were gunned down and a teenager was injured when armed men attacked a seminary in the Khana locality of the capital city on Friday night.

Police said two motorcyclists raided Jamia Madinatul Uloom located along the Expressway and opened fire. As a result, three persons suffered injuries.

The injured were taken to hospital where two of them - Qari Arif, 22, and Darvesh, 30, - were pronounced dead.

The third injured, Shakirullah, 14, was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition.

According to the police, the victims were sitting in front of the seminary when they came under attack.

Sources in the police said the seminary had been receiving threats for the last a couple of days and the madressah administration had sought police protection.

However, the police cover was not provided.

The sources expressed ignorance about the individuals or group behind the threats.

A senior officer, however, said there was a possibility that a militant outfit might be behind the attack. It seems to be an act of terrorism, he added.

After the attack on the seminary, the capital police took over half an hour to locate the crime scene and then raised the issue of jurisdiction with its Rawalpindi counterpart.

Later, the Shahzad Town police accepted that the incident had occurred in its limits.

Due to the jurisdiction issue, the police failed to alert its patrolling and picket staff to intercept the gunmen who escaped after committing the crime.

Late in the night, students from other seminaries in the twin cities gathered at Jamia Madinatul Uloom and staged a protest demonstration against the attack.

They blockade both the lanes of the Expressway and pelted vehicles with stones.

Policemen, including their senior officers, left the scene instead of asking the students to remain peaceful.

As a result, the students moved towards the Expressway. The participants of the protest were also moving towards Faizabad when this report was filed at about 11pm

However, police force, including anti-riot units and commandos along with armed personnel carriers, were called to the spot.

In another incident, a minor boy was shot dead and his father injured at F-8/2.

Police said Mir Waiz, 30, was intercepted by gunmen near his house when he was taking his two-and-a-half-year-old son to a market.

Opinion

Editorial

Punishing evaders
02 May, 2024

Punishing evaders

THE FBR’s decision to block mobile phone connections of more than half a million individuals who did not file...
Engaging Riyadh
Updated 02 May, 2024

Engaging Riyadh

It must be stressed that to pull in maximum foreign investment, a climate of domestic political stability is crucial.
Freedom to question
02 May, 2024

Freedom to question

WITH frequently suspended freedoms, increasing violence and few to speak out for the oppressed, it is unlikely that...
Wheat protests
Updated 01 May, 2024

Wheat protests

The government should withdraw from the wheat trade gradually, replacing the existing market support mechanism with an effective new one over the next several years.
Polio drive
01 May, 2024

Polio drive

THE year’s fourth polio drive has kicked off across Pakistan, with the aim to immunise more than 24m children ...
Workers’ struggle
Updated 01 May, 2024

Workers’ struggle

Yet the struggle to secure a living wage — and decent working conditions — for the toiling masses must continue.