Family of majlis attack victims refuses to lodge FIR

Police register case against unidentified men; no progress in case so far

KARACHI: The culprits of the Nazimabad majlis attack remain at large as the family of the victims has refused to register an FIR with the police.

Meanwhile, the Nazimabad police have registered a case against unidentified persons as the family expressed dissatisfaction with the law enforcers and refused to register a case.



An FIR No 331/16 was registered on behalf of Nazimabad SHO Syed Faizul Hassan. Besides Sections 302 (murder) and 324 (attempt to murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code, the police also included Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Hopeless and dejected

"Which law you are talking about? There is no law," lashed out an angry relative of the victims requesting anonymity. "Why we would go for the FIR when there is no justice? We do not [have any] hope from the law enforcers. What kind of Karachi Operation [is] being [conducted] from the [last] three years when they [have] totally failed?"



Syed Zaki Abbas and three of his nephews - Baqar, Nasir and Nayyar - were shot dead along with their driver, Nadeem, who was a Sunni, when gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire on participants of a majlis at a house in Nazimabad No VI in District Central on Saturday. Around half a dozen people, including women, were injured in the attack. Manzur Abbas, who is the brother of Baqar and Nayyar, was also among the critically wounded victims of the attack. Manzur is admitted at a hospital in Karachi. He is on ventilator and the doctors are trying to save his life.



The victims lived in the United State of America (USA) and United Kingdom (UK). The three brothers - Nayyar, Baqar and Manzur - had arrived from USA while their cousin - Nasir - arrived from UK to observe Muharram in Pakistan.

"The family [upheld the] practice of holding the processions of Muharram 8 and Muharram 10 and a majlis for women at their house for the last 50 years," explained another relative. "But, from the last 30 years, they were living abroad and used to come just for arranging the Muharram processions and majlis. This time, they became victims of sectarianism."

After learning about the tragedy, more family members of the victims arrived in Pakistan for the funeral and burial process of their loved ones and later returned after Soyem. "The family members have returned abroad," said Nayyar Ali, a representative of the Shia Ulema Council. "Definitely, they refused to register a case and it is a disgrace for the law enforcement agencies."



No major breakthrough

More than three days have been passed since the tragic incident occurred in Nazimabad neighbourhood but there is no progress in the investigations. Police officials said that there is no major breakthrough in the case so far. "We tried to convince them [family] but they were not agreeing to lodge a case," explained DSP Muhammad Mobin of the Nazimabad police station while talking to The Express Tribune. "We waited for them for at least three days and finally registered a case on behalf of the state. We cannot force them when they don't want [to register a case]." Law enforcement agencies have been conducting raids and operations in the metropolis following the majlis attack and have detained over 50 suspects.

This was the fifth targeted attack on members of the Shia community in the month of Muharram.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2016.