KARACHI: Two suspected militants were shot dead in an ‘encounter’ jointly carried out by the Sohrab Goth police and the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) in Sohrab Goth in the early hours of Sunday, officials said.

They added that the officials had received a tip-off that suspected militants wanted to target polio vaccinators during an anti-polio drive on Sunday and they might pass by the area near Machhar Colony.

A joint police party was already deployed there and when the suspects travelling in a rickshaw and a hatchback came at around 3am the police party signalled them to stop. However, the suspects allegedly threw a cracker-like explosive device and opened fire on the police in their attempt to flee. The policemen in ‘retaliatory fire’ wounded two suspects in the rickshaw, but their alleged accomplices in the vehicle escaped under cover of darkness.

The wounded suspects were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors pronounced them dead on arrival.

They were identified through the computerised national identity cards found in their pockets as Qamar Zaman, 26, and Moosa Khan, 35, hailing from Waziristan.

A hospital official said that Qamar sustained two bullet injuries on his head and chest while Moosa received three bullet wounds.

The police claimed to have seized 10 kilograms of explosive material, two hand grenades, weapons and ammunition from their possession.

“The deceased belonged to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and were planning to attack polio workers on Sunday,” said Sohrab Goth SHO Shoaib Ahmed.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2014