A day after two activists of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) – a reorganised version of the banned militant outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan – were shot dead outside the city courts, three lawyers, belonging to the Shia sect, were gunned down and another injured by unidentified assailants near the same place on Wednesday.
After the incident, tension engulfed the old city areas and later spread across the city, as unidentified armed men resorted to aerial firing in Model Colony – the residence area of the slain lawyers – and forced the shopkeepers to shut down markets.
The spree of sectarian violence in the metropolis has claimed at least six lives within two days, as another ASWJ activist was gunned down later in the Orangi Town area.
The lawyers, identified as Badar Munir, 45, his 25-year-old son Gohar Shakil Jaffery, Kafil Jaffery, 28, and Babar Ali, 45, were returning home in a car (R-7162) after attending court proceedings, when four unidentified assailants riding on two motorcycles intercepted their vehicle at Din Muhammad Wafai Road and sprayed the car with bullets, killing three of the lawyers on the spot while Ali was injured.
The bodies of the deceased and the injured lawyer were shifted to the Civil Hospital Karachi. The situation in Jaffar Tayyar Society in Malir also became tense as unidentified miscreants set ablaze tyres and closed the roads for vehicular traffic. Aerial firing was reported in Abbas Town, Buffer Zone, Gurumandir and Kala Board and an Edhi ambulance was set ablaze at Malir 15.
A strong reaction was also reported from other Shia-dominated areas of Ancholi, Abul Hassan Isphahani Road and Rizvia Society in Nazimabad, where a large number of residents came out of their houses and blocked the roads in protest of the killings of lawyers.
Taking notice of the incident, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad ordered the immediate arrest of the attackers involved in the murder of the three lawyers.
Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan suspended Aram Bagh police station SHO and Sub-Inspector Minhajul Hassan on account of negligence.
South Zone Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Naeem Sheikh has constituted a committee under the supervision of Saddar Superintendent of Police (SP) for investigation.
Later, Karachi Additional Inspector General of Police also formed an inquiry committee to investigate the case under the supervision of Deputy Inspector General South, South SSP Sheikh, SP Saddar Tariq Dharejo, SP Crime Branch Niaz Ahmed Khosa and Special Investigation Unit (SIU) SP Shahjehan Khan.
Aram Bagh SHO Jan Khan Niazi, who assumed charge after the suspension of Hassan, said the incident could be a reaction to the killing of ASWJ’s legal adviser a day earlier.
Endorsing Niazi’s view, the SSP South Zone said it would be premature to conclude the case, adding that the killings might have been due to offering resistance during a robbery bid.
“Apparently, it was a sectarian killing but again I cannot say anything with surety until the committee completes its findings,” he maintained. Sheikh said the condition of the injured man was stable and police have recorded his statement. “With his help, the sketches of the attackers will be prepared to arrest them as soon as possible,” he added.
Responding to a question, the SSP said that the brother of slain ASWJ legal adviser had registered an FIR against three people belonging to Fiqah-e-Jafaria (Shia), but again it would be premature to link the killing with a single incident.
In response to another query, he said that with thousands of lawyers visiting the city courts everyday and that too without any proper schedule; it is not possible for the police to escort every lawyer. “With our limited resources, we are trying our best to cope with the ongoing sectarian killings,” he said.
STRIKE: The Shia Ulema Council has announced a strike today (Thursday) and three days of mourning to protest the killings.
