ISLAMABAD: One person was gunned down during a mock exercise, held to simulate a terrorist attack, at the premises of a foreign telecom company, police said on Monday.

The exercise was conducted by the company at its building in Sector G-9/4 on Sunday, police said, adding that the drill was conducted to test the preparation and abilities of the security guards in case of a terrorist attack.

However, police said, the authorities were not informed about the drill by the company.

During the drill, a security guard opened fire with his “222 gun”, fatally wounding an office boy, identified as Mudassir. The 33-year-old was shifted to a hospital, where he was subsequently pronounced dead.

Police said that a case was registered at the Karachi Company police station against the security guard under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

When asked whether the multinational company had informed police before the mock drill, Margalla Circle Sub-Divisional Police Officer DSP Malik Bashir said he was not aware of any such request. He said prior intimation was necessary ahead of such mock exercises.

Karachi Company police station SHO Sub-inspector Aamir Abbas said that the security guard, who was a retired commando, responsible for the killing was arrested by the police.

The suspect was taken into custody for three days after a magistrate approved his physical remand, SI Abbas said. He also confirmed that the police were not informed about the exercise.

Mohammad Rafiq, father of the deceased, was reluctant to talk to Dawn about the killing of his son during the mock exercise.

A senior police officer told Dawn that police had registered a murder case in response to a complaint lodged by the deceased’s father, wherein he clearly said that all staff members present on the spot should be interrogated.

Although a spokesperson for the telecom company could not be reached for comment, a company official termed the incident a tragedy.

The official told Dawn that police were investigating the matter.

In another incident, a man was murdered over a family dispute in the area of Bokra, the police said.

The deceased identified as Mohammad Ayoub had an argument with his in-laws which ended in a stabbing.

Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2023