Settling scores?: Sunni Tehreek and MQM workers attacked in separate incidents

Two senior ST members were attacked outside a residence while the MQM workers were playing cricket.

KARACHI: At least five people, including three political workers, were killed and eight others were injured on Sunday.

Two Sunni Tehreek (ST) workers, identified as 30-year-old Rashid and 35-year-old Yahya, were shot dead in Gulshan-e-Zahoor in Lines Area. According to the police, they were sitting outside Rashid’s home when men opened fire on them. They were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) but did not survive their injuries.

A score of ST leaders and workers reached the hospital and demanded arrests of those responsible, while shouting slogans. The party spokesperson, Fahim Qadri, told The Express Tribune that the victims were senior members of the party and were associated with the Lines Area sector.

Following the incident, panic and fear spread into the locality and a heavy contingent of law enforcers was deployed. The funeral prayers for the deceased were offered after Asr prayers and they were laid to rest in a local graveyard.

The situation at Brigade and its surrounding areas remained tense throughout the day. No case has been registered as yet.

MQM workers attacked

Shortly after this incident, workers and supporters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), who were playing cricket at a ground near the Baitul Mukarram Masjid, were attacked. Witnesses said that four men, who appeared to be intoxicated, arrived at the scene in a black Toyota Corolla and started abusing the MQM and its leadership, followed by indiscriminate firing. As a result, four MQM supporters were injured and taken to the JPMC. However, 24-year-old Arsalan succumbed to his injuries and 22-year-old Hazim Iqbal was admitted in a critical condition. The other two, namely Asif and Junaid, were reportedly out of danger.

Arsalan, who used to run a paan shop in Hussainabad, and the other three injured persons were residents of block 13-D, Gulshan-e-Iqbal and played cricket at the ground every weekend.

SHO Kenson Dean did not confirm the motive behind the incident, saying that the investigation was in its initial stage and a case was yet to be registered.

Violence roundup

Unidentified gunmen in a car shot dead 25-year-old Mohammad Omar near Schon Circle. Omar, a resident of Soldier Bazaar, was on his motorcycle when he was shot thrice. SHO Asif Jakhrani said that the motive behind the incident has yet to be ascertained and the police was trying to trace the culprits with the help of the CCTV cameras installed at nearby shops.

Earlier, an unidentified man who had been shot on his leg and head was found near the Urdu Bazaar and taken to the civil hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. A case has been registered against unidentified persons.

Meanwhile, five more people, including ASI Dilshad Hussain of the crime investigation department, were injured in separate incidents.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 16^th, 2012.