KARACHI – The traders of the cloth market in Kharadar closed down their shops on Tuesday after a well-known trader was gunned down by unidentified culprits in the wee hours of the day over allegedly refusing to pay extortion money.
The Pakistan Memon Ittehad organised a demonstration, during which the traders of the cloth market burnt tyres at Chagla Street and Bakery Road in Kharadar and allegedly also torched a local office of the People’s Amn Committee.
Abdul Ghaffar, 60, a well-known cloth trader, was accompanied by his friend at Chagla Street when he was shot at by two men on a motorcycle.
He was taken to the Civil Hospital Karachi where he succumbed to his injuries; the body was handed over to the heirs after completing the medico-legal formalities.
The protesting traders were of the view that the victim had refused to pay extortion money, which had resulted in his murder.
They said that the traders had received parchis (extortion slips) at the beginning of this year, and that the extortionists were pressurising the traders for paying huge amounts of money amid the massive financial losses they had suffered last year.
They said that Ghaffar had fallen victim to targeted killing, and that his murder was intended for terrorising and sending a message to other traders who have refused to pay extortion money this year.
They demanded the government to bring the culprits to book and provide security to the traders of the market.
Kharadar SPO Raza Hussain Shah told Pakistan Today that the traders of the cloth market have closed down their businesses to mourn the death of Ghaffar.
He said that the traders had set tyres on fire and demanded the government to put an end to targeted killings of traders.
He added that the traders had not burnt the office of the Amn Committee; the office had accidentally caught fire after tyres were torched nearby.
He denied that Ghaffar was killed over refusing to pay extortion money; he termed the incident as targeted killing.
FIR No 13/2011 has been registered against unidentified culprits under Section 302/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim’s son.
Talking about the victim’s background, sources said that after Ghaffar’s father had died, a huge row broke out between him and his two brothers over unequal distribution of their inheritance; it was claimed that Ghaffar had usurped his sisters’ share.
Ghaffar’s brother Ismail was handed over to the police over the disagreement between the brothers.
After being released, Ismail shot the third brother dead and surrendered to the police; Ismail and his sisters developed mental disorders over time because of the trauma.
A few days back, traders at Burns Road had resorted to a violence protest after extortionists fired at their shops for refusing to pay them money.
Kharadar traders feel the wrath of parchis this time
