Whither security?: Pak embassy official shot at, out of danger
Useful Links
» A new way to read online, exact replica of your daily and magazine
» For all you tweety fans out there!
» Allows you to find only those news from any date you choose!
» Search any news/ articles by author/ category/ date/ keyword
KATHMANDU, APR 14 - In a third brazen attack in the Capital the last one week, a 36-year-old Pakistan Embassy official in Kathmandu was attacked, at a tightly-guarded neighbourhood at Basundhara, on Thursday morning.
Mehboob Asif, visa assistant at the embassy, was shot at by two armed men who waylaid him as he was heading to his Maharajgunj-based office on a motorcycle from his home in Basundhara.
The attack occurred on the busy Ring Road, close to both the Pakistani Embassy and the Metropolitan Police Circle at Maharajgunj. Asif has received multiple bullet injuries—two in his right arm, and one each in the thigh and the abdomen. His condition is said to be stable.
A police team that was pressed into action within five minutes of the incident rushed Asif to Om hospital in Chabahil. He was subsequently moved to the TU teaching hospital in Maharajgunj. Doctors attending to Asif said he is “out of danger for now.”
Witnesses said armed assailants, one sporting a green T-shirt, piled on to the motorcycle-borne Pakistani before one of the gang shot at him four times at around 8.50 am. “The assailants then jumped Asif’s motorcycle which fell and they fled the scene,” said a witness. The motive behind the attack is still unclear.
The attack triggered speculation in the Capital that the same gang that had gunned media entrepreneur Jamim Shah last year and attempted to kill jailed Yunus Ansari last month was behind this latest attempt on the Pakistani official. Both Shah and Ansari reportedly had links to organised fake Indian currency racket.
“It is an open secret who is behind the attempt,” said a police officer. Pressed to furnish details, many red-faced senior police officers chose to remain silent while others switched off their phones. “It’s too early to point fingers,” said Nepal Police Spokesperson Navaraj Dhakal. “Investigation is underway.”
Police said Thursday’s incident follows the escape of Pakistani prisoner Mohammad Jamil from the police custody early this month. Jamil, who had been given a two-year sentence for his link with the fake Indian currency racket, escaped from Gangalal hospital in Bansbari where was being treated for an alleged heart condition.
After the shooting early Thursday, police found the abandoned Hero Honda Splendour motorcycle (Ba 16 Pa 9045) belonging to Asif outside Maharajgunj-based Kanti children’s hospital. Both the assailants had reportedly run towards Basundhara leaving behind the two-wheeler there.
A police team arrived with a sniffer do at the place where the bike had fallen but the dog lost the scent track near Tilingatar-based police post at Ring Road. Police suspect the assailants boarded a vehicle (taxi, microbus or yet another motorbike). They cordoned off the area until evening to carry out a manhunt, to no avail. “We have taken 149 suspects in custody,” said Kathmandu police chief Pushkar Karki. “We are putting together sketches of the assailants after talking to eyewitnesses.” Meanwhile, the Pakistani Embassy said in a statement that it is “confident that the Government of Nepal would undertake investigations at appropriate levels to bring the criminals to justice.”
Pakistani ambassador Syed Abrar Hussain, who visited the injured official in hospital, said he had full faith that Nepal would investigate into the matter. Friday’s is the third attack in the Capital in five days. On Sunday evening, an Indian trader Anjani Kumar Chachan was shot dead at his apparel shop in Ganabahal. Motorcycle-borne assailants had attacked newly appointed Energy Minister Gokarna Bista with a khukuri outside his residence on Monday evening.
Posted on: 2011-04-14 09:48
Post Your Comment