Malir residents escape two rocket attacks

In a first, victim kills alleged target killer after latter misses.

KARACHI: Residents of Malir Town escaped two rocket attacks on Wednesday.

Men fired one rocket at a Saudabad mosque while the other fell in a Malir farm. No injuries were reported. The police said the rockets were fired from Dur Mohammad Goth and may have been aimed at the cantonment. The Bomb Disposal Squad said that they were Russian and had 400 grammes of explosives each.

An eight-foot-high wall of Jamia Masjid Mustafa near Kala Pul was partially damaged. Afterwards, scores of Ahle Sunnat activists burnt tyres and blocked traffic.

Target killings continue

In a first, an alleged target killer was gunned down by his victim. In Lyari’s Khadda Market, two men on a motorcycle came allegedly to kill a man but there was an exchange of fire and one of the attackers was shot, said Lyari SP Javed Baloch.

The deceased was 28-year-old Saleem Akhtar, a resident of Orangi. He was shot thrice and a pistol was also found.

His accomplice escaped during the firing and the police have been unable to identify him and the man they tried to kill. “We only heard gunshots, which confirmed that there was crossfire,” shopkeeper Ayaz told The Express Tribune.

Another shopkeeper, who requested anonymity, also said that the men on the motorcycle opened fire at a pedestrian but they missed and one of them was shot when the victim retaliated.

There were unconfirmed reports that the attackers planned on killing a member of the Peoples Amn Committee as its office is located nearby.

At least five cases of heinous crime were registered against the deceased. “I am sure that he was a target killer,” the SP said.

Apart from this, six more people, including a Muttahida Qaumi Movement activist, were gunned down and a body was found on Wednesday.

The MQM’s Muhammad Ali, 24, was killed outside his apartments in Garden.

A 40-year-old trailer driver, Abdul Qadeer, was killed and at least four other men, including an alleged member of a spy agency, were injured when four men on motorcycles opened fire at four trailers at Aisha Manzil. The injured men were identified as the alleged secret agency member Sain Kalado, Lal Hussain and Abdul Hafeez.

“You can tell that someone in the city wants the situation to remain disturbed for the sake of their ego,” said SHO Shaukat Shah. The officer, however, neither confirmed nor denied that an intelligence personnel was injured.

Separately, a 23-year-old tailor, Rashid was gunned down when some men opened fire on Safari Coach (PE-3093) near Valika Chowrangi in SITE.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2011.