Islamabad police kill deaf man thinking he was suicide bomber

From The Daily Times in Pakistan:

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- The acclaimed story of Islamabad police’s bravado, involving the killing of a would-be suicide attacker at a checkpost in Sector E-11, took a new twist on Nov. 13 when sources claimed that the killed “bomber” was an ordinary, deaf citizen.

“He was an ordinary deaf person, he did not stop when the police asked him to keep away from the checkpost. The police took him as a suicide attacker and shot him,” the sources told Daily Times.

They said the police had contacted the deceased’s family before his burial, who informed police that the person was deaf.

“The family contacted the police, but authorities pressured them not to discuss the issue,” the sources said.

They said the deceased was shot with three different weapons and five bullets were retrieved from his body – four from the head and one from his shoulder.

The man received six wounds on the right side of his face, three on the left, and one each at the back of his skull, front of the left shoulder, left palm, backsides of both hands, and the left elbow.

The deceased was around 25 years of age, five feet and two inches tall and had a mole on the back of his neck.

However, Shalimar police Station House Officer (SHO) Altaf Aziz Khattak said the person killed at the picket was a suicide attacker.

“The suicide attacker arrived at the security picket in a double cabin pick-up and did not stop when the police asked him to. He started walking towards the policemen at the picket and shouted Allah-o-Akbar, but officials shot dead him. They also removed the suicide jacket he had on him,” Khattak said.

Appreciation: Altaf said he was present at the checkpost at the time the incident occurred, adding that the police must be appreciated and encouraged after preventing a major attack in the city.

News reports had said that the “attacker” had arrived in the vehicle along two other accomplices, who allegedly managed to flee from the scene after dropping the deceased “attacker”.

Police said after the incident that they had launched an operation for their search but the no news in this regard has so far been received. Islamabad Inspector General of Police Syed Kaleem Imam was not available for comments despite repeated attempts.