KARACHI: A documentary film highlighting the quick police response to a deadly militant raid on the Pakistan Stock Exchange five years ago premiered on Saturday, celebrating the bravery of officers who foiled the attack and ensured that trading was not suspended for long despite the violence.
Four gunmen from the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) mounted an armed assault on the exchange in Karachi on June 29, 2020, hurling grenades and firing rifles in an apparent attempt to create a hostage situation. The attack prompted police to react quickly, killing all four attackers in a showdown that lasted about eight minutes.
At least three people — a policeman and two security guards — were killed and seven others injured, but trading on the exchange resumed once the building was secured.
“This documentary has been made on the stock exchange terrorist attack and depicts, in an excellent and unique way, the courage and bravery of Sindh police’s martyred and surviving officers and personnel,” Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon said at the premiere, according to a statement.
“Many good works of the police go unhighlighted," he added. "However, this documentary is an outstanding effort, and I am confident that such excellent initiatives will continue in the future.”
Titled Pakistan Stock Exchange – The Police Story, the film is a joint project of Sindh police and production house RAVA Documentary Films.
It was screened at a private Karachi cinema in a ceremony attended by Memon, senior police officials and a wide range of citizens.
The documentary portrays, with close-to-reality reconstruction, how policemen and other law enforcement agencies stood their ground against heavily armed militants. Commemorative shields were exchanged between Sindh police and RAVA to mark the collaboration.
Karachi has long been prone to ethnic, sectarian and militant violence, though high-profile attacks have become less frequent in recent years.
The BLA has mostly remained active in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, but it has also carried out attacks in Karachi, often seeking to target Chinese nationals.
