11th Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat man shot dead

A member of the Ahle Sunnat wal Jammat (ASWJ) was killed by unidentified armed men on Monday.

Tayyab Siddiqui, a resident of sector-11, Orangi Town, was killed when two suspects on motorcycles shot him in the head. Police officials said he was killed near the block L chowrangi and that Tayyab was on his motorbike when the incident took place.

He was the son of Maulana Shahid, who is the pesh imam (prayer leader) at Makkah Mosque, Orangi Town. Tayyab was a student of Hikmat - the study of medicine with Greek herbs and methods.

According to SHO Haji Liaquat, Tayyab had political affiliations and his father was a member of the Tableeghi Jamaat. The police have started investigating the case, he added.

Meanwhile, ASWJ spokesperson Qari Ihsanullah said that he was an active member of his organisation. He was killed just because of his affiliation with our organisation, Ihsanullah said. “It is a matter of target killing.”

The spokesperson claimed that Tayyab was the eleventh member of the organisation to be killed this year, including ASWJ’s former chief Maulana Ghafoor Nadeem.

Separately, a Sunni Tehreek activist, Moeen Qadri, was injured in firing near Ahmad Raza Mosque in sector 8 C, Baldia Town, on Monday. He was a resident of Shah Faisal Colony. He was taken to Civil Hospital, Karachi.

Bodies found

Korangi residents found a body near the Imam Bargah Sadequain on Monday. The police identified the body as that of Muhammad Saeed, son of Bashir Ahmad.

The body was taken to the Edhi morgue.

Similarly, a man’s body was found near the Malir nullah. According to Sharafi Goth SHO Mazhar Iqbal, it appeared that he had been kidnapped and then killed. “He was in his late 20s and was wearing black trousers and a black shirt,” the SHO said. His body was taken to the Edhi morgue. An FIR has been lodged against unidentified people.

Funeral of PPP member

The funeral ceremony of Syed Muhammad Irfan alias Kala, an activist of the Pakistan Peoples Party who was shot dead on Sunday night, was held at sector 4 A Eidgah ground in Surjani Town. His body was buried in a graveyard in New Karachi.

Area residents protested against the killing by burning tyres on the roads and firing in the air. Shops were closed down and a heavy contingent of police was sent to the area to control the situation.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2010.