SINDH - KARACHI POLICE OFFICERS KILLED IN

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KARACHI 000067

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDED NOFORN CAPTION)

SIPDIS
NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PK
SUBJECT: SINDH - KARACHI POLICE OFFICERS KILLED IN
SHOOT-OUT WITH "TERRORISTS"

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Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY CONSUL GENERAL STEPHEN FAKAN, REASONS 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Security forces in Karachi suffered
casualties during a botched operation against a criminal gang
in the Sohrab Goth area of the city. Different Pakistani
officials have made different claims as to the reason for,
and results of, the operation ) including a claim that the
gang participated in the November 2008 kidnapping of an
Iranian diplomat in Peshawar - but there is no verifiable
evidence that an operational terrorist cell was disrupted.
The only certainty is that the security forces were no match
for the criminals. End Summary


2. (U) According to press reports, during the early hours of
January 15th, two Karachi police officers were killed and
others injured as they assisted Inter-Service Intelligence
(ISI) and Anti-Violent Crime Unit (AVCU) personnel in an
attempt to arrest persons alleged to have been involved in
the November 2008 kidnapping of Iranian diplomat Hashmatullah
Attar Zadeh in Peshawar (or, according to another official,
they were trying to disrupt planed terror activities). In
the aftermath of the shooting, over 100 mobile units of
police and Rangers, supported by armored cars, surrounded the
area and started a house-to-house search. Thirty-five people
were arrested, including four who were identified as members
of Tehreek-e-Taliban and the banned religious terrorist
organization, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. The police claim to have
recovered a large quantity of weapons and "chemicals." The
Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP),Babar Khattak
claimed "We had a tip-off that a terrorist group was planning
major terror activities in the city, and was hiding in Sohrab
Goth and Orangi Town."


3. (C) No police officer has gone on record criticizing the
ISI, but several have voiced displeasure about the poor
planning, information sharing and execution of this operation
which, they feel, resulted in the killing and wounding of so
many officers. While finger-pointing is common after such an
event, on a tactical (and maybe operational) level, the
security forces were outclassed by their intended targets.
The ISI and AVCU personnel on the scene told their police
back-up to stay out of sight while the five of them went
forward in an unmarked and unarmored car. The ISI personnel
were identified by armed men and when the police responded to
the sound of shooting, they too were engaged. Thirteen of
the ISI and police were killed or wounded. Their
adversaries, evidently, suffered no casualties. If this was,
in fact, a hostage rescue, it was a dismal failure. If it
was an effort to disrupt a terrorist group who were planning
attacks in the city, as claimed by the IGP, it was very
costly.


4. (S/NF) A law enforcement source said it was his
understanding that reports of ISI involvement were accurate.
He made no mention of any "chemicals," items overtly related
to terrorist activity or planning, or known terrorists,
having been found during the round-up that took place after
the shooting. He said this was a criminal gang engaged in
kidnapping and some of the proceeds may be going to terrorist
groups in the north.


5. (S/NF) The head of Sindh's Criminal Investigation
Division (CID) told Post the criminal gang involved in the
shooting is from Waziristan agency and the tribal-belt of
Mohmand agency. He said they are working for Baitullah
Mehsood and Tehreek-e-Taliban. He said the groups have
turned to kidnapping and bank robbery because they are
getting less funding from donations and through religious
campaigns. He noted that the ISI agents were using a GPS
system, connected to a laptop computer, as they drove towards
their target building. Their car was stopped by six armed
boys. According to this source, the car they were driving
obviously did not belong in the area. The ISI agents
proffered an excuse for their presence but one of the boys
spotted the laptop and said to the others "These guys are
ISI. They are here to get the Mujahadeen; kill them." The
boys ran as they shot and this is why no one in the first car
was killed. Most injuries were to the legs. The responding

KARACHI 00000067 002.2 OF 002


police officers were fired at by men in the upper-floors of
buildings around the scene. This was confirmed by the
presence of empty shell-casings. This secondary engagement
resulted in the deaths and most of the injuries. It is quite
possible the police did not get a chance to fire back.


6. (C) Comment: It has not been possible to confirm if there
is any hard evidence that this gang was involved in the
November 2008 kidnapping of the Iranian diplomat. Likewise,
there is no independent corroboration of the claim they were
operationally involved in a plan to conduct terrorist
activity in Karachi. It is quite reasonable that ISI and
ACVU would cooperate in an operation to disrupt persons
involved in violent crime, the proceeds of which are helping
to fund terrorist activity (terrorist funding is often
connected to criminal gang activity in Karachi). More
significant than the object of the operation, is the fact
that it was so poorly executed it that it could be disrupted
by six boys. If the boys had been given just slightly better
training, it is most likely all the ISI and ACVU agents would
have been killed. We have no way of knowing if the 35
persons rounded up after the shooting were in any way
involved. End Comment.
FAKAN