3 Sunni Tehreek men injured in firing

At least three Sunni Tehreek activists were injured when unidentified armed men opened fire on a rally.

KARACHI: At least three Sunni Tehreek activists were injured when unidentified armed men opened fire on the organisation’s rally in New Karachi on Saturday afternoon. The rally came under attack near the Rehmania Masjid in Godhra Colony when it was on its way to join the Jan Nisaran-e-Mustafa Conference at Nishtar Park.

Qasim Shehzad, Wasim Mushtaq and Fayyaz Ahmed were shot and injured while they were on a truck with the other participants of the rally.

Witnesses said that the two men riding a motorcycle opened fire at the truck and escaped. The injured were taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

Panic and fear gripped the area and men fired shots in the air. The participants staged a protest and blocked the thoroughfare for some time, but later they moved towards the conference.

Sunni Tehreek Coordination Committee member Saleem Qadri told The Express Tribune that a rival sectarian group was behind the incident. “It is not the first time when members of the banned outfit attacked Sunni Tehreek men,” he said. “We informed the police about the presence of [their] members in the area but no step was taken.”

On the other hand, the police was not sure about the actual nature of the incident. “Any participant could have had a gun because it often happens that they carry arms [for protection],” New Karachi SP Karamullah said. “It might be possible that someone from the rally resorted to aerial firing and mistakenly hit the people.”

Residents said that people belonging to rival sects live in New Karachi and its surrounding areas and often clash. They blame the law-enforcement agencies for failing to curb such sectarianism in the locality.

“We are afraid of losing our lives,” said Riaz Ahmed, a resident of New Karachi’s Godhra Camp. “Every time, the law enforcers return after the situation calms down, without taking any strict action.”

Residents warn of more violence. “Not only in New Karachi, we fear that it might spread across the city,” one resident said. “The government and the law-enforcement agencies should ensure we spend Rabiul Awwal peacefully.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 6^th, 2011.