Need to be very alert after terrorist attack in Islamabad: Sheikh Rashid

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said on Tuesday that there is a need to stay alert of terrorism-related incidents in Islamabad, a day after a policeman was shot dead and two others were injured at a checkpoint.

Speaking to the media after attending the funeral prayers of Head Constable Munawar, who was martyred in a shootout on Monday night, the minister said that it was not an incident of theft or robbery, but an act of terrorism.

"We have received a kind of signal that terrorist incidents have started happening in Islamabad. This is the first incident of the year and we need to be very alert," he said.

On Monday night, two gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire on a police checkpoint in the vicinity of the Karachi Company police station.

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As per reports, police personnel tried to stop the two men on a motorcycle for routine checking when the riders opened fire.

In the retaliatory firing, Head Constable Munawar was martyred while the other personnel were wounded. The two attackers were also killed.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the ambush.

"We are proud of these heroes, and our fighters will continue to follow in their footsteps," the group said in a statement.

Pakistan's government announced late last year it had entered a month-long truce with the TTP, facilitated by Afghanistan's Taliban, but that expired on December 9 after peace talks failed to make progress.