Target killings - day six: Brazen daylight shootings continue

Brazen daylight drive-by shootings continue as six more men get killed.

KARACHI:

In one case, witnesses said over one dozen men on motorcycles swept into Kharadar, shot two men and took off before anyone could say the words ‘target killing’. Thus, for the sixth day, the brazen daylight drive-by shootings continued on Tuesday. Six more men are dead.

Tuesday’s victims included two Peoples Amn Committee (PAC) men, two activists of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and one member of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party.

Police frustration was palpable, especially in Lyari. “Thank God I’ve been transferred,” sighed SP Lyari Rana Pervez Mahmood while talking to The Express Tribune on Tuesday. “There’s a new SP now. Ye janay aur us ka kaam janay. [Now it’s between him and his work]. Obviously, when people die and the criminals aren’t arrested it makes you sad.”

Mahmood is being replaced by SP Javed Baloch, who will assume charge on Wednesday.

For his part, Baloch said that he’d deal with people as they deserved. “I’m not going anywhere until they kick me out of the job,” he added, when asked to comment on how he would tackle such a notorious neighbourhood. “It is a tough job, but there is plenty of opportunity to make change. And hopefully I’ll be able to do that.”

In the first incident reported, the two Kharadar men Shehzad Yousuf, 25, and 65-year-old Hanif Ahmed were gunned down in Fariya Street. When the attackers opened fire, four others were injured. The bodies were taken to Civil hospital.

According to SHO Ghulam Afridi, Shehzad was an activist of the PAC while Hanif Ahmed was a passerby.

Another PAC member was shot dead in Khadda Market, Lyari, in Baghdadi limits. The victim was identified as 30-year-old Imran. Police said he was sitting outside his house with his friends when two armed men on motorcycles shot him dead. His body was taken to Civil hospital. SHO Tasawur Hussain confirmed the affiliation of the victim with the PAC.

Fear and chaos ensued and shops shut down in Lyari and Saddar, including major markets like Macchi Miani, Khadda, Bolton, Lea and Shoe markets. Aerial firing rang out and the police moved in.

Meanwhile, one MQM activist was gunned down and two others were injured while hoisting their party’s flags in Sector 49, Korangi. Zaman Town police said the activists were preparing for MQM’s Foundation Day when around six men on motorcycles opened fire. Twenty-year-old Lal Mohammad was killed while Sultan and Hayat were injured. Police said the victim was a resident of the same area, Korangi, and was associated with MQM’s sub-organisation, the Muttahida Organising Committee. A case was registered against unidentified suspects.

The bullet-hit body of a man was found from 100 Quarters, Korangi. The victim was later identified as 27-year-old Azhar who was associated with MQM unit 76. SHO Pervaiz Gujjar said he was a resident of Sector 51, Korangi.

In Nazimabad, a PPP worker was gunned down while two others were injured in firing near Gol Market. DSP Sultan Khan said Nawaz Khan, 32, was the younger brother of PPP district central’s vice president Imtiaz Khan. The victim was at a mechanic’s shop when two suspects on a motorcycle opened fire. Resultantly, Nawaz, his friend Asif and mechanic Imran were injured and taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where Nawaz succumbed to his injuries. No case has been registered yet.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2011.