Policewoman who defended Chinese consulate in Karachi commended for her courage

A Pakistani policewoman who led the officers that repelled a trio of separatist militants as they attempted to storm the Chinese consulate in Karachi on Friday morning has been hailed for her bravery.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Suhai Aziz Talpur was one of the first on the scene when three men armed with assault rifles tried to enter the consulate in the southwest consulate of Balochistan.

The assailants, whose attack has been claimed by separatist militant group the Balochistan Liberation Army, were thwarted in their murderous campaign as they approached a security checkpoint.

Talpur, whose given name means “moonlight” in the Sindhi language, was among the team of guards and police that killed the three terrorists. In all, seven people, including two police officers and two civilians, died in the attack. She was not among the casualties.

As a native of the southern province of Sindh, Talpur has spent her whole life fighting to make her mark in a conservative region where the idea of even educating girls is frowned upon.

“When my parents decided to enrol me at a school, most of our relatives started taunting my family. So much so, that (we) had to leave our village and move to a nearby town,” she told The Express Tribune newspaper in an earlier interview.

Talpur actually joined the police against her family’s wishes – they would have rather she had become a chartered accountant instead. But thankfully for the staff of Karachi’s Chinese consulate, she thought such a career would have been too “dull and boring”.

Today, Talpur is being hailed as a hero in Pakistan, with news media from across the country clamouring to get her interview.

7 killed in attack on Chinese consulate in Karachi claimed by local terrorist group

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party and son of the late prime minister Benazir Bhutto, took to Twitter to single out the young police officer for praise.

“The reprehensible terrorist attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi was thwarted by the courageous fight put up by our Sindh Police led by the courageous SSP Suhai Aziz. I salute the brave officers who were martyred courageously protecting our friends. We honour them,” he said.