Cellular company's office attacked; two killed

At least two employees of a mobile company lost their lives when unidentified armed men barged into its franchise office and fired indiscriminate gunshots at the staff. Police said the incident occurred at the franchise office, located on the ground floor of a three-storey residential apartment, Crown Plaza, at North Karachi within the limits of Sharah-e-Noor Jahan police station.
The attack was captured by the close circuit cameras installed at the franchise. According to the CCTV footages, two armed men, who wore Shalwar Kameez, shawls and Peshawari slippers, entered the franchise and opened indiscriminate firing at the staff without speaking a single word and later they poured petrol on the counter and lit it with a match stick.
After committing the crime, the culprits easily escaped from the scene within 23 seconds. The franchise is owned by Murad Ali Soni, who has earlier worked as CPLC chief, central zone in 2007. Police said Murad and his son, Faisal Soni were not present in the office at the time of attack but eight other staff including two female workers faced the terror.
Police said the four employees, who had sustained bullet injuries, were shifted to a private hospital where doctors pronounced two of them dead. The deceased were identified as Amir Shafiq, 26 and Ashraf Mehdi, 22 while the injured were Fahad and Sohail. The victim Shafiq, a resident of Gulistan-e-Jauhar, had joined the franchise seven months ago as a rider while Mehdi, who was a resident of Ancholi area, had been working as a peon for several years.
CPLC Chief Ahmed Chinoy said: "I also visited the spot and all investigators believe that the prime target of the culprits was the franchise as after the dual murder they sprayed petrol and burnt the office." He said Murad Soni was his close friend but he had never informed about any threats to him.
DSP Javed Aslam said that although the culprits apparently appeared to be terrorists and they might have affiliation with the Taliban or any other banned religious outfit, it is premature to determine reasons behind the attack. No case was registered till filing of this report.