KARACHI – Amid the tense and insecure political environment of the city, as many as seven citizens, including three activists of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), were gunned down on Monday as Karachi was held hostage to a fresh spate of targeted violence. A 28-year-old man was shot dead by unidentified armed persons outside his house near Sindhi Hotel, Liaquatabad late Sunday night. His body was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) for post-mortem, where he was identified as Kashif Ali, son of Qaim Ali.
Duty Officer (DO) in Liaquatabad police station said the victim was standing outside his house in Liaquatabad, when two pillion riders sprayed him with bullets. He sustained two bullet wounds in the chest and died on the spot. The victim was said to be a former ex-worker of MQM. He said the police have registered an FIR under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on the complaint of the deceased’s father, Qaim Ali. A 40-year-old man was targeted near Jauhar Mor, Gulistan-e-Jauhar. The body of deceased was rushed to ASH where he was identified as Syed Hassan Asif, son of Syed Hassan Ijtaba.
Shahrah-e-Faisal Station House Officer (SHO) Sohail Suleri said the victim was a former worker of MQM Unit 108, Shah Faisal Sector. He said the victim left his house in Farhan Apartments at 11 am, but was intercepted near the complex’s main gate. He received two bullets, one each in his head and chest and died on the spot. No case has been registered as yet. Separately, a man was killed and two others sustained serious bullet wounds when some unidentified armed persons opened firing at them outside the ASH.
Muhammad Saleem, son of Muhammad Rashid and a resident of Nazimabad, was killed, while Zubair (son of Khursheed) and Muhammad Maqsood (son of Amanat Ali) sustained bullet wounds. The dead body and injured persons were rushed to ASH for autopsy and treatment. Officials in Shamim Shaheed police post said the victim was a worker of MQM, but Shamim Shaheed Police In Charge Sub Inspector Waqar Azeem declined to associate the victim with the MQM. In yet another incident, a woman was killed and her son sustained minor injuries when some unknown armed persons opened firing at them in Baloch Goth, Orangi Town.
Fifty-five-year-old Ameer Jehan, wife of Muhammad Sadiq, was going to the market with her son Muhammad Rizwan when two pillion riders opened fire at them. Ameer Jehan received one bullet in her head that proved fatal, while her son sustained minor injuries. Orangi SHO Naveed Shah said the killers tried to target Muhammad Rizwan, but his mother came in their range. He said the injured boy was affiliated with a politico-religious party. In another incident, a 40-year-old man was killed when an unidentified armed man fired at him in Tesi Lane, Lyari. Muhammad Younus son of Muhammad Yousuf and a resident of Lyari, was standing outside his house when an unknown man opened fire at him.
Younus died on the spot. The body of deceased was shifted to Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) for post-mortem. Baghdadi SHO Muhammad Ali said that the victim had a personal enmity, and an FIR has been registered on his nephew’s complaint.
