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Chechens’ killing – a sad reflection on FC, police
May 27, 2011
The bomb disposal squad officials wrote in their report that they reached the spot soon after the Tuesday incident and examined the bodies of the five Chechen victims at the FC check-post one after another. “During the checking of the bodies, we could not recover any suicide jackets or explosive material from the site.” The bomb disposal squad report contradicted the police claims that the five Chechens were suicide bombers and they attempted to attack the FC check-post. Earlier, Quetta CCPO Dawood Junejo and FC Commandant Col Faisal had claimed that the forces had foiled their attempt “successfully” and killed the suicide bombers. The post-mortem report also disputed the police claim that the five people were killed in a hand-grenade explosion. The BMC Hospital medical team, which conducted the post-mortem, said: “The major cause behind the deaths of the five people is firing”. “I don’t think that those shrapnel recovered from the bodies of some victims were of hand grenade,” said Dr Baqir Shah, police surgeon of BMC
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State writ remains a distant dream in the restive Balochistan despite the tall claims of the democratic government. Declaring Balochistan a land of love, the democratic government claimed to have provided complete safety to foreign investors but on the other hand law-enforcement agencies brutally killed five foreigners, including three women, on suspicion of terrorists here in provincial capital Quetta on 17th May. Quetta CCPO Dawood Junejo said that the airport police intercepted a dubious vehicle but the terrorists wearing suicide jackets ran the vehicle. They were seized near the FC check post in Kharotabad area on which they opened fire on the FC personnel. During an exchange of fire five persons, including three women, were killed.
Talking to the media persons, Commandant FC Colonel Faisal said that the foreigners seemed Uzbeks or Chechens aged between 20 and 25. Official sources said that the police seized Russian passports and Iranian visas from their possession. It seemed they entered Pakistan through the Iranian border. Officials said terrorists could not attack due to quick action by the police. They further said that the bomb disposal squads defused the bomb and suicide jackets of the terrorists. Commandant FC said that it was being investigated what was the target of terrorists. On the other hand, sources said three security personnel sustained injuries in the exchange of fire out of which, one succumbed to injuries but the law-enforcement agencies are not accepting the report. Despite lapse of five days to the tragic incident of killing of five Chechens the incident is still fresh in the minds of people who are mourning the terrible killings. In local buses, restaurants and other public places the killing of foreign nationals is common gossip and they are openly condemning the killing of five Chechens and contradictory statements of police and Frontier Corps claiming that the victims were suicide bombers and were killed by a hand grenade blast that was hurled on law-enforcement agencies.
With the passage of time new revelations are coming on the surface exposing the true face of police and law-enforcement agencies. The residents of Kharotabad, who witnessed the whole episode, said that police personnel after stopping the vehicle carrying five foreigners started disgracing the women on which they tried to flee. They said the victims after trying to escape from the police were heading towards a check-post of Frontier Corps for refuge when police opened fire and misled other law-enforcers who also opened indiscriminate fire on them for about 10 minutes. They said a woman raised her hand as a gesture of surrender but instead of stopping the law-enforcement agencies further intensified the fire.
After the revelation in the preliminary post-mortem report on the cause of death of five Chechen nationals, the bomb disposal squad said in its report that neither they recovered any suicide jacket nor any explosive material after the Kharotabad incident on May 17.
The bomb disposal squad officials wrote in their report that they reached the spot soon after the Tuesday incident and examined the bodies of the five Chechen victims at the FC check-post one after another. “During the checking of the bodies, we could not recover any suicide jackets or explosive material from the site.” The bomb disposal squad report contradicted the police claims that the five Chechens were suicide bombers and they attempted to attack the FC check-post. Earlier, Quetta CCPO Dawood Junejo and FC Commandant Col Faisal had claimed that the forces had foiled their attempt “successfully” and killed the suicide bombers.
The report mentioned that two safety levers and one safety pin of a hand grenade could not be recovered during the examination of the site where the five Chechens were found lying. During the search of the bodies, the bomb disposal squad recovered eight passports of the foreigners and one gold chain, which was handed over to the Airport Police Station SHO. The report said as soon as the foreigners reached the FC check-post in Kharotabad, they were gunned down by the police and FC. After the clearance of bomb disposal squad, the report added, the bodies were shifted to the BMC Hospital’s mortuary for autopsy.
The post-mortem report also disputed the police claim that the five people were killed in a hand-grenade explosion. The BMC Hospital medical team, which conducted the post-mortem, said: “The major cause behind the deaths of the five people is firing”. “I don’t think that those shrapnel recovered from the bodies of some victims were of hand grenade,” said Dr Baqir Shah, police surgeon of BMC.
Taking notice of Kharotabad incident, Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani has formed a high-level committee headed by Chief Secretary Balochistan Ahmed Bakhsh Lehri for a thorough investigation into the incident. Raisani has directed the chief secretary to prepare a comprehensive report, examining all its aspects and submit it to the Chief Minister’s Secretariat within 10 days.
Meanwhile, the Balochistan government has constituted a judicial tribunal, headed by Judge of Balochistan High Court (BHC) Justice Hashim Khan Kakar, said a notification issued here on Saturday. The notification said that the inquiry tribunal would ascertain the causes and facts of the incident. The tribunal would also fix responsibility and prevention of recurrence of such incidents in future. Foreign Office Spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua said that Russia had sought details of the incidents from Pakistan. Pakistan would provide the requisite information after completion of investigations.
The postmortem report of five Chechen nationals has revealed that a woman among the deceased was seven-month pregnant and received five bullets. The police and the FC gunned down the five unarmed Chechens at the FC check post despite that they were offering arrest by raising their hands in the air.
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