QUETTA: A policeman was martyred and a man suffered injuries when a suspected terrorist opened fire inside a mosque in Harnai on Wednesday.

Official sources said the incident took place when Constable Mohammad Wasim, who was on patrolling duty, entered the main mosque of Harnai town along with a member of the Tableeghi Jamaat.

The armed man opened fire on the two and fled leaving a bagful of explosives in the mosque.

Soon after the incident, police and Frontier Corps personnel reached the site and took the injured persons to hospital. However, the policeman died on the way to the trauma centre of the Quetta civil hospital.

“The armed man took away the policeman’s official AK-47 rifle with him,” Harnai Deputy Commissioner Azim Jam Dummar said

The bomb disposal squad recovered explosives, detonators and other subversive items from the bag left by the suspected terrorist. “Explosives and other subversive items were brought to attack a Kashmir rally in Harnai,” he claimed.

Security forces had started investigating the incident and launched a search operation in the area and the suspected terrorist would be arrested soon, he added.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2020