KARACHI:
At least six men, including four members of a local peace committee, were gunned down on Saturday.
A little after midnight, a group of men opened fire at a rickshaw and motorcycle near Al-Asif Square on the Super Highway. As a result, four men identified as 40-year-old Irshad Mehsud, the chairperson of the Khidmat Amn Committee, Mir Alam, 35, his younger brother, Khair Alam, 25 and their 26-year-old cousin, Sher Alam died on the spot. Their bodies were taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. According to DSP Iftikhar Lodhi, the victims were from Waziristan and belonged to the Mehsud tribe.
The DSP said that Irshad’s sister-in-law was on her way to a maternity home in Sohrab Goth with her sisters for a check-up when some men started harassing them. One of the men gave Mehsud’s sister-in-law his cell phone number and asked her to call him. The women got upset and told Irshad about the incident.
A few minutes later, Irshad got there with five other men and held a jirga. “It was decided that the young men had misbehaved with Irshad’s sister-in-law and should be taken to the police,” said DSP Lodhi. “Irshad was taking the men to the police station when their friends opened fire at the rickshaw and motorcycle.” He added that a Kalashnikov and 9mm pistols were used.
A heavy contingent of law enforcement agents cordoned-off Afghan Basti and its surrounding areas after the incident. They also conducted a search operation and detained over two dozen suspects, who were taken to a police station for questioning. Tension gripped Sohrab Goth as well as its surrounding areas following the incident and commercial activities were also suspended.
In an unrelated incident, Arshad, 25, was shot dead and Bilal Nasir was injured in an attack, said the Soldier Bazaar police. They claimed that Arshad’s brother, Moosa, who was affiliated with the banned Peoples Amn Committee, was also killed in the same way a few days ago.
A worker of a political party, Irfan Soomro, was shot dead on Friday night by motorcyclists near his house in Gul Mohammad Lane, said the Baghdadi police. They said that the initial investigation suggested that he was killed over a personal enmity.
Bodies found
The body of a 31-year-old man identified as Naveed Khan was found on Syed Mehmood Shah Road in Old city area, said the Napier police. They claimed that the victim was an estate agent and was kidnapped near Chakwara, Lyari on June 7. They added that Khan was shot six times and his body also had several marks of torture.
The body of Syed Raheel Haider, 38, was found in the Lyari River, said the Shershah police. The victim had died at least four days before the body was discovered. SHO Malik Nawaz said that police identified him with the help of the computerised national identification card which was found in his pocket. The victim was from Hazara and the motive behind the incident has yet to be ascertained.
A notorious criminal, Saeed Pathan, and three of his accomplices were detained after the Rangers conducted a raid in Lyari.
Law enforcers said weapons, including hand grenades, and narcotics were also seized from their possession.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 10th, 2012.
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