ASWJ’s Maulana Salim Khatri gunned down in Karachi

Another religious leader has been gunned down in Karachi, marking the second targeted killing in two days. Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat’s Maulana Salim Khatri was shot dead on Wednesday in the city’s New Karachi area.

The 58-year-old was sitting at a pan shop near his house when four armed suspects on two motorcycles shot and killed him near the Bilal Colony police station in the area’s Sector 5-E.

According to the acting superintendent of police for New Karachi, Kunwar Asif, they received information about the incident at 2:55pm and Khatri was pronounced dead at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where he was taken after the shooting.

The victim was shot five times, with seven shells of 9mm pistols found at the crime scene. Police are currently getting CCTV footage from the area to identify the attackers.

The incident took place just a day after another leader associated with the Sunni Ulema Council was gunned down near his residence while returning from morning prayer. The two incidents appear to be targeted killings and police are investigating if there are any links between the cases.

Also read: Cleric shot dead in Karachi's Gulistan-e-Jauhar

The news of Khatri's death drew a large number of ASWJ leaders and workers to the hospital. They blamed 'anti-state elements' for the attack and accused the administrators of failing to ensure law and order in the city. The party’s general secretary, Taj Muhammad Hanfi, said that the funeral prayer would be held at 10 pm.

In response to the killing, protesters blocked the highway near the Edhi morgue at Sohrab Goth where Khatri’s body was shifted. The demonstration disrupted traffic and ended only after police assured them that those responsible for the attack would be brought to justice.

A day earlier, Maulana Abdul Qayyum was shot dead near his residence in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. Last month, an educationist Khalid Raza was shot dead in the same area.

In the above two cases, the victims were shot once in the head from close range. Both cases were targeted hits with the police saying they were investigating if there were any links between the cases.

Mufti Muneebur Rehman, while speaking at Qayyum’s funeral, had said that the ‘construction mafia’ could also be possibly involved in the murder.