A deputy superintendent of traffic police and his driver were shot dead in Karachi's Azizabad area on Friday morning.

As per initial reports, DSP Hanif was on his way to office from home when unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire on his vehicle in the Hussainabad neighbourhood of Azizabad, said SSP Central Muqadas Haider.

The bodies of DSP Hanif and the driver, constable Sultan, were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

The martyred policement were laid to rest later the same day. Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah, Home Minister Suhail Anwar Siyal, IGP Sindh A.D Khawaja and and Corps Commander Karachi Shahid Baig Mirza attended the funeral of the slain police personnel among others.

A new terrorist group, Ansar-ul-Shariah Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the incident in pamphlets left at the site of the attack.

Soon after the incident, police and other law enforcement personnel reached the scene and started an investigation after collecting evidence.

Additional IG (AIG) Karachi Ghulam Qadir Thebo, while talking to reporters, said bullet shells shot from a 9mm pistol were found at the scene.

Sindh Home Minister Suhail Anwar Siyal sought a report on the killings from AIG Thebo and announced a Rs10 million reward for anyone assisting in the arrest of the culprits.

The home minister directed security to be kept on high alert in the metropolis and efforts be made to arrest the attackers soon.

IG Sindh A.D. Khawaja separately sought a detailed inquiry report into the incident from the Deputy Inspector General — West.

He said the militants involved in the last two attacks on police personnel have been traced, and those behind today's killings will be brought to book as well.

Wave of targeted attacks

Friday's attack on police personnel is the latest in a series of assaults on law enforcers in the city in recent months.

On July 24, assailants riding a motorbike shot dead a traffic police constable and wounded another on busy Abul Hasan Ispahani Road in the Gulshan-i-Iqbal area.

That incident, the second one in less than four days as three policemen were earlier killed in Korangi on July 21, had left a question mark over the effectiveness of the targeted operation in Karachi and the performance of the law enforcement agencies.

Following the attack, IG Khawaja had issued new guidelines for the force across the city. He had directed the policemen to follow standard operating measures (SOPs) during routine businesses.

Besides this, he also imposed a fresh set of measures, including regular firing exercises, deployment of young policemen at public places and replacement of old fleet of vehicles with new ones.