The Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Co-ordination Committee announced three days of mourning following the assassination of MPA Manzar Imam and his guards. The committee appealed to party workers and sympathisers to remain peaceful and wear black arm bands to mourn the death of martyrs. A statement issued on Thursday from the committee said the assassination of Manzar Imam was a great tragedy for the party. It said the MQM had lost a senior worker who was highly dedicated to his work and immensely popular amongst the people of his constituency. The statement said earlier MPA Raza Haider was gunned down but his killers remain at large. Incidents of sectarian killing have been occurring continually in the city which has placed a big question mark on the performance of law-enforcing agencies, said the statement. It further said the MQM has been advising its workers to bear the loss with patience for the sake of peace in the city. The terrorist elements, said the statement, cannot diminish the courage and resolve of the MQM and the party would continue its struggle led by its leadership. The committee demanded President Asif Zardari, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and others at the helm of affairs to take serious notice of the killing of MPA Manzar Imam and his guards and called for a high level inquiry into the incident so that the killers are brought to justice.
