Shifting targets: ST men hauled to godown and shot as rally takes place

Political violence affects Ramsawamy and Landhi at MQM-H chief’s residence.

KARACHI:

Two young activists of the politico-religious organisation, the Sunni Tehreek, were gunned down and another was wounded on Sunday evening as the ST’s Janisaran-e-Mustafa conference at Nishtar Park was underway.

While ruling out the possibility of a sectarian target killing, the authorities and relatives of the victims suspected that they were targeted for political reasons. So far in January at least 21 men have lost their lives in drive-by shootings for a political or sectarian motive.

Twenty-year-old Sohail Qadri and Saleem Qadri, 24, were killed at main Ramswamy market within Garden police limits. This was the same spot where barely a day earlier, on Saturday, a worker of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was killed and three others were wounded. This apparent coincidence was not lost on the police.

Witnesses say at least four to five young men on two motorcycles were behind Sunday’s attack. “The ST activists were getting the people into the buses for the rally when they were targeted,” said Mohammad Noman, a vegetable seller. “There was a bit of a rush (or crowd) and the culprits surrounded the men from all four sides, took them to a nearby godown and shot them dead.”

Sohail was shot thrice and Saleem twice. They were later taken to Civil Hospital, Karachi before their bodies were handed over to their families.

As the news spread Ramswamy started shutting down in fear and police patrolling was enhanced. Residents now fear more tit-for-tat bloodshed.

“This is what goes on here. They kill rival activists,” said a resident Hammad, not his real name. “An MQM wallah was killed yesterday. Today it was the ST men. Tomorrow someone else will die.”

The victim Sohail lived in the same locality. He was the eldest with four young sisters and his father is a rickshaw driver. Victim Saleem lived in Baldia Town and both men were associated with the ST’s Lyari sector. Their funeral prayers were offered at Jama Masjid Ramswamy and they were laid to rest at Mawach Goth graveyard. Their funeral was marked by a protest.

“What should I say who killed who, but this seems like a reaction to the earlier incident,” said Rajab Qadri, Sohail’s cousin. “Because this is what has been going on before.”

The police was waiting for the family to register a case. District South SSP Naeem Sheikh ruld out the possibility of sectarianism. He told The Express Tribune that initial investigation suggests it was political. ST spokesperson Fahim Sheikh said that these killings were a conspiracy to try and affect the ST conference.

MQM-H chief residence

Ramswamy was not the only area where political violence reared its head. Landhi residents endured an exchange of fire between political activists near the residence of Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi chief Afaq Ahmed. MQM-H activist Asif was wounded and an MQM-H leader, Shamshad Ghauri, claimed that 18 of their men were missing. Ghauri said armed men belonging to a rival political party he would not name had attacked MQM-H men who had arrived to attend a meeting with Afaq Ahmed. He said that the rival party’s activists also pelted Ahmed’s residence with stones.

DIG East Naeem Borkha said that the situation had been taken under controlled. He denied that anyone was kidnapped. “Ever since Afaq Ahmed sahib has come back here this has become a daily routine,” he said. “It got a little out of hand today but everything is under control.” An extra contingent of police has already been deployed for Ahmed’s security and the police arrested 15 activists from both parties.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2012.