KARACHI: Former SSP Malir Anwar’s convoy came under attack in the Malir area of Karachi where assailants hurled hand grenades and opened fire on the police vehicles. The policemen escaped unhurt, however, five attackers were killed in retaliatory fire, said Anwar.

The SSP said he was returning from slain DSP Fateh Muhammad Sangi’s residence, who was martyred earlier on Friday, when unidentified assailants, in one car and three motorcycles, hurled hands grenades and opened fire at his convoy.

Anwar stated that he was heading to inspect the incident site where DSP Sangi was killed when his convoy came under attack. “Police retaliated promptly to the attack, killing five attackers, who appear to be from Taliban,” said the SSP.

He further said that weapons and hand grenades were recovered from the killed attackers; however, their identities were still unknown.

Also read: DSP, guard and driver gunned down in Malir district

Police vehicle that came under attack. -DawnNews screengrab

DSP Sangi along with his security guard and driver was shot dead on Friday morning in a gun attack that police believed was the job of banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

The four attackers riding motorcycles intercepted the car at ‘Bata Mor’ in Gulshan-i-Hadeed Phase-I and opened fire on it from three different directions, leaving all the three officials dead on the spot, said Karachi-East SSP Pir Mohammed Shah who had just taken the additional charge of Malir SSP after the late night transfer of SSP Rao Anwar.

Know more: Sindh IG transfers SSP Malir for 'misusing' authority

Sindh Police Inspector General (IG) Ghulam Hyder Jamali had on Thursday transferred Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rao Anwar from Malir.

The provincial police chief said Rao Anwar “misused” his authority following which he has been transferred from Malir district.

The police spokesperson said the IG’s orders came after Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah took serious notice of Rao Anwar’s press conference earlier in the day, in which he leveled serious allegations against Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

The SSP had claimed that the MQM has links with Indian spy agency RAW, and that the party sent workers to India to get them trained by RAW and eventually use that training to spread terror in Pakistan.

“MQM is a terrorist organisation and it should be banned,” SSP Anwar had argued, while narrating that members of MQM went to India through Indian-held Kashmir, were trained there by RAW and then came back to Pakistan to spread terror.

"We have solid evidence to prove these allegations. The two people we arrested have confessed all of this and they are ashamed of their activities. We recovered a large amount of explosives, hand grenades, 9mm pistols from these suspects. We will investigate further during the remand," he had said.