Sectarian killings resurface

Protests and violence crippled life in some areas of Karachi after a fresh outbreak of murders.

KARACHI: Protests and violence crippled life in some areas of the city on Tuesday after a fresh outbreak of murders on sectarian grounds.

Enraged protesters forced shops to shut down in Rizvia, Golimar, Orangi Town, Ancholi, Water Pump, Nazimabad, Lasbela and parts of Malir. Public transport came grinding to a halt when buses were torched in Golimar and Nazimabad. The unrest erupted following the murder of a Deobandi cleric on Tuesday morning and the son of a Shia cleric on Monday night.

The Deobandi cleric, Mufti Furqan, a peshimam, was gunned down in Ranchore Line. SP Saddar Town Javed Akbar Riaz said the method used for killing the Deobandi cleric was similar to the way four other people have been murdered in the last 24 hours - a Shia cleric’s son Mirza Khadim Hussain in Nazimabad, Dr Najamul Hassal in Orangi and DSP Nawaz Ranjha and his driver at MA Jinnah Road.

“The tactic used in these murders is similar. People on motorcycles opened fire on the victims and escaped,” the police official said.

Warning

Jafferia Alliance Pakistan (JAP) president Allama Abbas Komaili warned on Tuesday that if the government fails to arrest the culprits responsible for the murder of the Shia cleric’s son within 24 hours, a protest movement would be launched against the government.

In a statement, Komaili said banned terrorist outfits such as the Taliban and Sipah-e-Sahaba are involved in the target killings in the city. Meanwhile, Ahle Sunnat wal Jammat spokesman Qari Ihsanullah condemned the recent killings and demanded an inquiry into the murders.

Funeral

Sindh IGP Sultan Salahuddin Babar Khattak participated in the funeral prayers for DSP Nawaz Ranjha offered at the police headquarters, Garden on Tuesday. Ranjha and his driver Jehangir were gunned down by unidentified men on Monday night at MA Jinnah Road. The IGP announced Rs2 million in compensation for the slain DSP’s family.

Body found

The body of 26-year-old man identified as Mudassir Hussain was found at a plot near Jamia Manhajul Shariah Madrassa in Orangi Town, within the jurisdiction of the Iqbal Market police station. The body was taken to the Jinnah hospital. The victim was shot in the head. He was a resident of Tauheed Colony in Orangi.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2010.