Karachi Stock Exchange Building Attack: 4 Gunmen, 6 Others Dead

Four security guards, a police sub-inspector and a civilian died in the gun and grenade attack.

Four terrorists who attacked the Pakistan Stock Exchange building in Pakistan’s Karachi were killed by security forces. 

(Photo: PTI)

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Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam

Four terrorists who attacked the Pakistan Stock Exchange building in Pakistan's Karachi were killed by security forces on Monday, 29 June.

Four security guards, a police sub-inspector and a civilian were also killed in the gun and grenade attack which took place at around 10 am on Monday, reports said.

Police surgeon Dr Qarar Ahmed Abbasi stated that seven bodies and seven injured, including policemen, have been brought at the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi.

The four attackers, carrying grenades, automatic rifles and backpacks, were killed by the police and the Pakistan Rangers. A clearance operation was also held later, Dawn reported.

(Photo: PTI)

“The gunmen attacked the building, which is in a high security zone that also houses the head offices of many private banks, with grenades and guns,” chief of Karachi police Ghulam Nabi Memon told Reuters.

He added, “Four attackers have been killed, they had come in a silver Corolla car.”

Four security guards, a policeman and a bystander were also killed, according to a statement from the Karachi Police, news agency AFP reported.

‘Terrorists Eliminated in 8 Mins’

Sindh Rangers Director General Umer Ahmed Bukhari, during a press conference, said that the terrorists were eliminated within eight minutes. He told reporters, according to Dawn, that a combined operation by security agencies started at 10:02 am and the attackers were killed by 10:10 am.

Further, Rizwan Ahmed, a police official at the scene, told AP that food supplies were found on the bodies of the gunmen, indicating that they may have planned a long siege, which police quickly thwarted.

The gunmen had stepped out of a vehicle and lobbed grenades before entering the stock exchange premises. AK-47 rifles, hand grenades, magazines and other explosive material have been recovered, the police said.

Bukhari said that a tweet had been posted in which the attack has been attributed to the Balochistan Liberation Army outfit, adding that a final statement on it will be issued after investigation.

However, Bukhari has stated the “possible involvement of foreign agencies, especially India’s RAW,” stating that such attacks are not “stand-alone incidents” and cannot take place without the help of outside intelligence agencies, Dawn reported.

(Photo: PTI)

"An unfortunate incident took place at the Pakistan Stock Exchange... They made their way from our parking area and opened fire on everyone," the director of stock exchange, Abid Ali Habib, was quoted by Geo News as saying earlier.

Trading at the stock exchange had reportedly continued during the attack.

Pak PM Imran Khan Condemns PSX Attack

“Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan condemns the terrorist attack on the Karachi Stock Exchange. The security forces bravely fought the enemy and thwarted the attack,” PTI’s Shahbaz Gill said in a tweet. Gill added the whole nation was proud of its brave soldiers.

“I have extended my heartfelt condolences to the families of the martyrs and pray for the recovery of the injured,” he further wrote.

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail took to Twitter to condemn the attack, saying it was "aimed at tarnishing our relentless war on terror."

The Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited, in a tweet earlier when the situation was “still unfolding, said that they “will issue a more detailed statement in due course once the situation is under control and more details are known.”

(With inputs from Dawn, Geo News and Reuters.)