QUETTA: A retired deputy inspector general of police was gunned down in Junior Assistant Colony here on Saturday night.

According to police, unidentified armed men riding a motorcycle opened fire on former DIG (crime) Naeem Kakar when he was coming out of a mosque.

They said Mr Kakar was taken to a hospital, where he died during treatment.

His body was later shifted to the Combined Military Hospital for medico-legal formalities.

Soon after receiving the information about the attack, security personnel rushed to the area and launched a search operation. No arrest, however, was reported.

The area police registered a case against unidentified attackers. They said efforts were being made to arrest the killers.

“It seems to be a case of targeted killing,” a senior police officer said, adding that police were investigating the incident from different angles.

No one had claimed responsibility for the attack immediately.

Mr Kakar had served as Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Quetta and also as SSP of railways police for many years. He had also performed as DIG Police of Qila Abdulla and DIG Crime Branch.

His son serves the police department as an inspector.

Several retired and serving senior police officers have been targeted in attacks in Quetta, Pishin, Chaman, Qila Saifullah and other cities of Balochistan over the past 10 years.

Responsibility for many of these assaults was claimed by banned extremist outfits.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2018