Shia doctor, son gunned down in Lahore in apparent sectarian hit

Unidentified armed motorcyclists gunned down a prominent Shia doctor and his 13-year-old son here early on Monday, two days after 85 members of the minority Hazara Shias were killed in a bombing in Quetta.

According to details, Syed Ali Haider, a well-known eye specialist of the provincial capital, was driving his son Murtaza to school (Aitchison College) when his car was intercepted by two gunmen on a motorcycle on Zahoor Elahi Road. The gunmen fired indiscriminately at the vehicle and escaped. The father and son were taken to Services Hospital, where doctors declared Haider dead on arrival. Murtaza succumbed to his injuries a short while later. The shooting occurred near the residence of Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.

Several Shia professionals, including doctors and lawyers, have been gunned down in Lahore and Peshawar in recent weeks. On Saturday, 85 people were killed and nearly 200 injured in a bomb attack in a Shia-dominated area of Quetta. No one claimed responsibility for the killing of the doctor and his son. Haider’s brother, former judge Afzal Haider, said the family had no enemies.

“The possibility that the shooting was sectarian in nature could not be ruled out,” he said. “We are devastated at the killing of our loved ones. The family has no enmity with anyone. I don’t know where we are heading. God help this country,” he said.

Model Town Superintendent of Police Malik Awais told Pakistan Today that they were investigating different aspects of the incident. “I cannot confirm whether there is a sectarian element at this moment,” he said.

Meanwhile, the General Cadre Doctors Association, Young Doctors Association, Pakistan Medical Association and Medical Teachers Association have announced to observe one-day mourning for Dr Haider on Tuesday (today).

The doctors will suspend routine services at all government teaching institutions and hospitals across Punjab.