PHOTO: TWITTER
"The next 24 hours are extremely crucial for Godil," Rizvi said, adding the oxygen supply had been decreased early this morning so Godil could begin breathing on his own.
The hospital spokesperson added that while 60 per cent of Godil’s oxygen supply is being provided through a ventilator, he is managing only 40 per cent by himself.
An 18 doctor panel observing Godil and his reactions has declared him clinically stable, however, should his condition destablise in the interim, he will be supported wholly by the ventilator.
Read: MQM lawmaker fights for life after gun attack
Rizvi said the hospital staff had stopped giving Godil sedatives so he could regain consciousness and his reactions could be monitored.
Godil is fighting for his life after he was critically wounded in an attack in Karachi’s Bahadurabad area on Tuesday. The MNA was admitted at the Liaquat National Hospital (LNH) with gunshot wounds to his jaw, neck and upper torso, causing massive damage to his lungs.
Read: MQM agrees to hold next round of talks in Islamabad
At the time when 54-year-old Godil’s car came under attack, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman was visiting MQM headquarters Nine Zero in Azizabad to discuss the party’s resignation from the assemblies.
A New Town police official said the MQM MNA had returned from visiting his mother and was near his house when the assailants opened fire on his four-wheeler. The attack left Godil’s driver dead.
The attack
Footage obtained from CCTV cameras installed by the locals in the vicinity of the crime scene revealed that the MQM leader’s car was moving at the time of the attack, said a police official. “Two men on a motorcycle approached Godil’s vehicle and shot at it at least eight times.”
The policeman said the assailants had been following the car. “As the vehicle slowed down on a speed hump, the pillion rider opened fire.”
The driver stopped the car moments later, got out of the car and then fell unconscious after looking in on Godil in the backseat, added the official.
He said the MNA was an easy target because he had no police or private security escort. “He was once assigned a policeman, but he had refused the offer.”
The first impressions
“The assailants were trained and the entire attack took only 10 seconds,” Gulshan Division SP Abid Qaimkhani told The Express Tribune.
“We shall investigate the case in the light of recent attacks, such as Punjab home minister Col (retd) Shuja Khanzada’s killing on Sunday. It seems there has been resurgence in the activities of militant or sectarian outfits.”
Forensic experts have collected eight bullet casings of a 9mm pistol. “So far we have not found any record of ballistic cross-matching,” said one of them. “It seems that the gun used in the attack was not used in any prior incident, probably to dodge the investigators.”
A spokesman for the paramilitary Rangers said investigation into the attack had been initiated from different angles. “The attackers will be arrested before long.”
Karachi police chief Mushtaq Mahar has constituted a joint investigation team to probe the incident. East Zone police chief DIG Munir Ahmed Sheikh will lead the team, which also includes the East District SSP Operations, the SSP Investigations and the SP Special Investigation Unit.
An investigator said the police had planned to conduct geo-fencing in a two-kilometre radius of the crime scene to aid in their efforts to arrest the attackers.
MQM leaders ‘in danger’
Following the attack, some of the MQM leaders visited the LNH as the rest of them stayed with the JUI-F chief at Nine Zero.
MQM MNA Ali Raza Abidi told The Express Tribune that the party’s parliamentarians and leaders had been receiving threats from banned outfits on a regular basis.
“We have asked the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee and other security authorities several times to look into the threats, but they did not pay heed to any of our complaints.”
Abidi said Godil had told him three days ago that some men had been asking his apartment’s caretaker about his whereabouts.
Meanwhile, MQM chief Altaf Hussain said in a statement that the party’s coordination committee had started consultations regarding the attack to decide their next move.
PM inquires health of Rashid Godil
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called Godil’s son Naufel Godil to inquire about the former’s health.
He prayed for Godil’s early recovery and directed the authorities concerned to provide the best medical facilities and care to the MQM parliamentarian.
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