The prayer leader-cum-seminary teacher of Jamia Masjid-o-Madressa Islamia, Qari Ahsanullah Rasheed, was shot dead on Wednesday evening while he was teaching Quran to the students, Bilal Colony police said.
Three armed men came to the mosque on a motorcycle, witnesses said. One of the three entered the mosque and shot the victim in the head, killing him on the spot. When he went outside, he saw his accomplices had already escaped. He tried to kick-start the motorcycle but as a mob approached him, he started running. He also fired at the crowd, injuring a man in the shoulder, SP Salman Hussain, the New Karachi division police chief, told The Express Tribune. The killer was then handed over to the police.
The accused was later identified as Kashif Shakoor alias Bilal, who lives in Quaidabad. During interrogation, the assassin said he was associated with a militant outfit. “He was directed by someone from Waziristan to kill the victim on suspicion of being a police informer,” said the SP citing the suspect.
The victim, Qari Rasheed, had been associated with the mosque for the past 15 years. The killer and his victim both were from the Ahle Hadith sect, said SP Hussain.
Unconfirmed reports suggested they were also associated with the Jamaatud Dawa but its spokesperson denied, saying the organisation had no links with the mosque, its administration or the men.
Earlier, a young man was shot dead at his car showroom on Shaheed-e-Millat Road, Ferozabad police said. Two armed men on a motorcycle shot Tanvir Hussain Bangash, 28, twice, killing him on the spot, said ASP Ghulam Murtaza Malik. The victim, father of one, lived in PECHS and belonged to the Shia sect.
Suspected militants arrested
A potential attack on an imambargah in Gulshan-e-Iqbal was averted as two suspects allegedly associated with the banned religious outfit, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), were arrested on Tuesday night, Azizabad police said.
Five men in a high-roof vehicle were asked to stop by police in Block-2, Federal B Area but they started firing. After an encounter, Hafiz Hanif and Qari Chiraghuddin were arrested while three of their accomplices escaped, the police said.
The police have identified the other suspects as Qari Ghulam Mohammad, Qari Ghulam Akbar and Riaz. The law enforcers are conducting raids in different neighbourhoods in search of the other alleged militants.
During interrogation, the men admitted they were associated with the LeJ as well as Harkatul Mujahideen and were planning to attack an imambargah in Gulshan-e-Iqbal through an explosives-laden vehicle, said DSP Saleem Akhtar Siddiqui. The suspects were trained in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
The suspects were also involved in collecting funds for their organisations through donations and selling skins of sacrificial animals.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 6th, 2012.
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@Ace: yea even in punjab it is MQM, and also in waziristan and swat and well everywhere else it is MQM doing all these activities. My questions is if they are the ones doing all this then why can't they be stopped? i mean if the police and judiciary is honest and have evidence its MQM then start arresting everyone including Altaf hussain and senators, what is government afraid of? riots? there are already hundread of ppl dying everyday so what if there are riots for day or two, atleast it will be peaceful afterwards.
Ahh i don't understand why people don't look into relaity and then decide and speak what is going on. and btw i am totally not an mqm supporter. but truth must be spoken
Dude, a lot of Taliban and other terrorists are being caught around the country nowadays. It makes sense that there are people on the inside who are acting informer for whatever agency that has finally tried to (temporarily) clamp down on the militant alliance and it makes sense that the Wahhabi mafia would want to plug all suspected leaks. You gotta keep things in perspective.
@Ace: Ok, so after MQM is wiped away from earth, whom will you blame these attacks on. Maybe PTI or ANP. Oh yes I tell you these attacks will never end unless you think with a rational mind and accept the obvious. Please stop being a Sherlock Holmes.
A brief overview of the killer's statement highlights the actual culprits:
1."he was associated with a militant outfit" - We all know the biggest militant outfit in Karachi. 2."directed by someone from Waziristan"- Everyone knows that party's wazir resides abroad, hence the code name for the actual city. 3."suspicion of being a police informer"- The world knows what happened to their past informers, including Imran Farooq.
Kashif Shakoor alias Bilal - now they are being taught to name the religious party no matter what party they belong to. In the end his true identity will be from local political party.