Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) provincial lawmaker Sajid Qureshi was among three killed on Friday in a drive-by shooting outside a mosque in Karachi. His 25-year-old son was also killed in the attack.
“Gunmen on a motorcycle fired at Sajid Qureshi, his son and a pedestrian when they were coming out of the mosque,” said Amir Farooqi, a senior police official. “He died on the spot, while his son and the third victim died at hospital.”
Qureshi was elected to the Sindh Assembly from Karachi’s PS-103 seat in May 11 polls.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan have accepted responsibility for Qureshi’s killing.
THREE DAYS OF MOURNING
Following the attack, the MQM announced three days of mourning throughout Pakistan in protest of the killing of its lawmaker.
The party appealed to all businessmen, traders, industrialists, retailers and transporters to keep their businesses shut in protest of the assassination.
Party leader Abdul Rasheed Godil said the MQM would also boycott the National Assembly proceedings until “serious steps” were taken to stop target killings in Karachi.
Soon after the killing, the party postponed the announcement of results of a “referendum” held on Thursday to decide whether the MQM should join the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government in Sindh or lead the opposition in the provincial assembly.
ALTAF GRIEVES
Party chief Altaf Hussain said the assassination of MPA Sajid Qureshi and his son was a tragedy and he was “sorely grieved” over the unfortunate incident.
He was talking on telephone to the members of the Rabita Committee and office-bearers of various wings and departments of the MQM. Hussain said he was “overwhelmed with grief” and decried the killings.
He alleged that there had been a conspiracy to eliminate the MQM since its inception.
“When we started struggle for rights of the disadvantaged people, we were denigrated and accused of enmity against the country. Violence and bloodshed was unleashed in Qasba Aligarh, Hyderabad and Sohrab Goth. Our people were killed but we bore the persecution with patience.”
TARGET KILLINGS RAMPANT
Meanwhile, nine more people lost their lives in the ongoing spree of targeted killings in the metropolis.
According to police, five bullet-riddled bodies were found in Kemari, Lyari, Ibraheem Hydri and Sher Shah areas of the metropolis.
According to details, Maulana Yasir was shot dead by some unidentified people in Shah Faisal Colony. His body was shifted to Jinnah Hospital.
Meanwhile, a man was killed and another was injured in firing near Ghas Mandi while a man was shot dead near Dua Hotel at Maripur Road.
RANGERS IN ACTION
Rangers took several persons under custody by raiding the residence of Uzair Baloch in Lyari Town.
Sources said that Rangers raiding Uzair Baloch’s Lyari residence had taken five persons into custody and shifted them to some unknown place. However, no weapon was recovered from them, sources said.
Rangers’ officials said that the raid was conducted on information of the presence of some criminals by closing all entry/exit roads and completely blocking the area.
In Nazimabad, residents protesting against arrests by the Rangers blocked heavy road traffic in the locality and its adjoining
Residents staging a demonstration against the arrests during search operation conducted by the Rangers torched tyres blocking the road that suspended all road traffics from Nazimabad.