Funeral prayers of Khurram Zaki, a human rights activist and social media campaigner who was shot dead last night, were offered outside Chief Minister’s House on Sunday evening.
Mourners, after bringing his body in a coffin outside the CM House in the form of a rally, protested the murder of the slain rights activist. Zaki was gunned down by unknown assailants in North Karachi late Saturday night. Two others, journalist Rao Khalid and a bystander, Aslam, were critically injured in the attack.
A Taliban group has accepted responsibility for the attack.
According to media reports, heavy police contingents were deployed in the area surrounding the CM House. Four assailants riding on two motorcycles had opened fire on Zaki at a tea shop located in Sector-11B of North Karachi. The activist was killed and two others were critically wounded in the attack.
The family members of Zaki have demanded of the government to bring the culprits behind the gruesome killing to justice. A First-Information Report was registered on Saturday by a member of Majlis Wahdat Muslimeen (MWM) under sections 324/34, 302 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
BILAWAL CONDEMNS MURDER:
A number of government and opposition figures have condemned the brutal killing of the rights activist.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto condemned the murder of Khurram Zaki and ordered the law enforcement agencies to apprehend his killers at the earliest.
Bilawal condoled the killing of Zaki with his family members. The PPP chairman said that the individuals raising their voice for the people of Karachi are being killed mercilessly.
QAIM SEEKS REPORT FROM IG:
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Home Minister Suhail Anwar Siyal have both sought a report from the IG Sindh about the killing of the social activist Khurram Zaki.
The two also directed the police to arrest the culprits involved in the murder.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) coordination committee has also condemned the murder and said that the government should arrest his killers. Millat-e-Jafria Chairman Allama Sajid Naqvi also condemned the killing and demanded to arrest the killers.
ZARDARI TAKES NOTICE:
Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians President Asif Ali Zardari has taken notice of the murder and has directed the Sindh government to arrest the murderers and bring them to book as soon as possible.
The former president expressed deep sorrow and grief over the murder of Syed Khurram Zaki and offered his condolences to the bereaved family. He said these brutal murders cannot be allowed in Pakistan. He said that the terrorists cannot weaken the nation’s resolve to fight terrorism.
THE AZIZ CONNECTION:
Zaki was shot dead by unidentified gunmen while having dinner at a local hotel in Federal B Area on Saturday night. His body was shifted to his home in Ancholi after medico-legal formalities at Abassi Shaheed Hospital. Two other persons were also critically injured in the firing incident. Zaki was a social activist and participated in protests against Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz in Islamabad in the past.
A former journalist, Zaki was an active campaigner for human rights and was the editor of the website and Facebook page Let Us Build Pakistan (LUBP) which aimed to “spread liberal religious views and condemned extremism in all forms”.
Zaki was last in the media limelight alongside activist Jibran Nasir in a campaign against Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz for inciting hatred against Shia Muslims. The campaigners had managed to get a case registered against Aziz.
Zaki had confided to friends that he was on several militant “hitlists”, fellow activist Jibran Nasir told media personnel on Sunday. Nasir said that Zaki did not specify which groups specifically had threatened him.
Rights activist Sabeen Mahmud, who was also gunned down in Karachi, had also taken part in the protest against Lal Masjid.
An MWM spokesperson said that Khurram Zaki, 40, was not only a prominent civil society activist but also a religious scholar who used to appear on various TV channels.
The MWM spokesperson said they believed that banned sectarian outfits were involved in this gruesome murder.
