Tension grips parts of the city as two ASWJ funerals held

Commercial activity was halted in some areas by aerial firing.

KARACHI: Some areas of Karachi were hit by a wave of tension during the funeral of two activists of Ahle-Sunnat wal Jamaat (ASWJ), formerly known as Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, on Tuesday.

Two ASWJ activists, Mufti Zeeshan and Danish Bihari, were gunned down on Monday night in Zia Colony, within the jurisdiction of the Gulshan-e-Iqbal police station. Armed motorcyclists opened fire at them when they stepped outside a mosque after offering Isha prayers. The incident triggered tension in parts of the city, including Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Liaquatabad, Nagan Chowrangi, Federal B Area, North Karachi and Orangi Town. Commercial activities in these areas were disturbed as some people engaged in aerial firing.

The funeral prayers of the two activists were offered outside the Jama Masjid Siddiq-e-Akbar in Nagan Chowrangi after Zuhr prayers. It was attended by a large number of people, including ASWJ leaders and scholars such as Maulana Aurangzaib Farooqi, Maulana Taj Hanfi, Maulana Nasarur Rehman Usmani, Maulana Allah Wasaya Siddiqi, Dr Amir Chaudhry and Maulana Tariq Mehmood.

The participants placed the bodies on the road outside the mosque and staged a protest.

The central leader of ASWJ, Maulana Aurangzaib Farooqi, said that the authorities must arrest the culprits by Thursday. Farooqi said that three of his party’s activists went missing from North Nazimabad and they should also be rescued within the given deadline. “If this does not happen, all the Sunni organisations will form their own strategies to deal with the issue,” he said. Farooqi also warned that more protests would be organised until the culprits were arrested.

Mufti Zeeshan was buried at Shah Mohammad graveyard in North Karachi and Danish Bihari at Iqbal Market graveyard in Orangi Town.

Some people engaged in aerial firing as Danish Bihari was being buried and as a result, a young man, Feroz Ansari, was wounded. No case has been registered for the murders as yet, said DSP Pervez Iqbal Bhatti.

Laid to rest

The funeral prayers for SP Shah Mohammad, who was shot dead on Monday along with his doctor, Dilshad Ghauri, was offered at Garden Police Headquarters. IGP Mushtaq Shah, Additional IG Sindh Falak Khursheed, Additional IG Karachi Akhtar Gorchani, zonal DIGs and SSPs were in attendance. The body was later sent to Mohammad’s hometown in Punjab for burial. IGP Shah said that the targeted killing of the police officials is not a new occurrence and that law enforcers would continue to take action against criminals. He added that a new strategy is being made to deal with target killers. On behalf of Riaz, the police constable injured in the attack, the Korangi police have registered an FIR against four people under sections 302/34, 324 of the Pakistan Penal Code and section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act. A joint investigation team led by East Zone SSP has also been formed to probe the killing. Officials said that the investigators were trying to make sketches of the culprits with the help of the injured constable and witnesses.

Tension also prevailed in Kharadar and adjoining areas during the funeral of MQM supporter Mohammad Imran. He was gunned down on Monday night in Kharadar. DSP Zafar Ali Shah said that the police have yet to ascertain the motive behind the incident. He added that a case would be registered once the family approaches the police.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 30^th, 2012.