Spate of violence: Quetta firing incidents leave four dead

Motive in all cases remains unknown, investigations under way.

QUETTA:

Four people were killed and three others injured in separate firing incidents in Quetta on Thursday.

In the first incident, a man was killed, while two others, including a finance department officer, sustained injuries in firing in the Khuclak area of the provincial capital.

According to the police, a private car was on its way from Quetta to Pishin when unidentified men opened fire on it. The attackers managed to flee from the scene before the police arrived. The deceased and injured were then taken to the Civil Hospital Quetta. The deceased was identified as Sikandar Ali and the injured as Mushtaq Husain and Saqib.

“The victims were employees of the finance department in Pishin and were on their way to Pishin when they were fired upon,” a police official said.

Elsewhere, at least two people were killed in another firing incident at a shop in the Double Road area of Quetta.

According to police, unidentified armed men entered a mechanic shop and opened fire, killing two people on the spot. The attackers sped away on a motorcycle. The victims’ bodies were taken to the Civil Hospital Quetta, where they were identified as Imran Bhatti, a resident of Kasur, and Sheraz, a resident of Karachi.

Meanwhile a man was gunned down in Khuzdar on Thursday. According to the police, a man identified as Ghulam Mustafa Marri was on foot when men on a motorcycle opened fire near the City Police Station in Khuzdar.

Elsewhere, a hair dresser was shot and injured in the Killi Geo area of Khasmirabad in Quetta. According to the police, the hair dresser was asleep in his shop when unidentified armed men opened fire. The injured, identified as Arif, was shifted to the civil hospital for treatment.

The motive and culprits behind all the incidents remain unknown but cases have been registered and investigation opened.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2012.