ISLAMABAD: Pakistani interior minister Rana Sanaullah on Tuesday briefed a Saudi delegation on progress in an investigation into the killing of a Saudi diplomat in Karachi in 2011, the ministry said in a statement, with officials from Riyadh expressing satisfaction with the probe.
Gunmen on motorcycles shot and killed Hassan Al-Qahtani in Karachi on May 16, 2011, in an assault that was claimed by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.
Pakistani authorities established a special investigation team in November last year to probe the murder. This January, Pakistani police asked for assistance from authorities in Tehran to arrest the suspected killers, who are believed to be harbouring in Iran.
On Tuesday, a delegation of senior officials from the Saudi interior ministry met with Pakistani interior minister Rana Sanaullah. The meeting was also attended by Saudi ambassador Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, federal interior secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar and other senior officials.
“In the meeting, both sides reviewed the progress related to the investigation of the murder of Saudi diplomat Al-Qahtani and the arrest of the perpetrators,” the Pakistani statement said.
“The criminals involved in the murder of the Saudi diplomat will soon be brought to justice,” Sanaullah was quoted as saying in the statement, adding that "all resources" would be used to arrest the suspects.
The Saudi officials expressed satisfaction over the ongoing investigation, the statement said, while both sides also agreeing to improve coordination between the interior ministries of the two countries.
Four people riding motorcycles opened fire on the Saudi diplomat’s car. The envoy, a low ranking security official, was on his way to the consulate when the assailants struck.
The shooting, which occurred about 60 meters (200 feet) from the Karachi consulate, came days after unidentified attackers threw two hand grenades at the consulate in Pakistan’s commercial hub. No one was hurt in that attack.
In November last year, Pakistani authorities established a special team to investigate Al-Qahtani's murder after previous probes yielded no result. Counter Terrorism Department Deputy Inspector General Omar Shahid Hamid told Arab News at the time the team was working on “fruitful leads” from the country’s intelligence.
