Three ASWJ men among nine gunned down

Sindh Assembly member, Kulsoom Chandio shot in the thigh by unknown armed men near Punjab Chowrangi.

KARACHI: There seems to be no respite in sectarian killings in Karachi. Four days after five Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat activists were gunned down, three more workers of the religious outfit were shot dead on Friday.

In Gulshan-e-Iqbal, three student activists of the ASWJ, formerly the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan outfit, were targeted near University Road, Mobina Town police said. The victims were members of Muslim Students Organisation and were enrolled at the Darul Khair Madressa in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. At least two armed attackers targeted Azizur Rahman Ghaffar, 25, Qari Muavia Mujahid and Mohammad Shahzad when they were returning from a protest held against frequent targeted killings of ASWJ men in the city. Their bodies were taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). After the attack, a number of people gathered at the crime scene and held a protest. Extra contingents of law enforcers were called to the area.

ASWJ spokesman Taj Hanfi said that the victims’ only fault was that they participated in the protest against the killing of their colleagues. “The attackers had been monitoring the victims before the killed them,” he alleged. SHO Saleemullah Qureshi termed it a sectarian attack. The police are busy in controlling the law and order situation, he added. In Korangi, two more people shot dead in a targeted attack in Awami Colony, police said. The bodies were taken to the Jinnah hospital but the victims have yet to be identified. In Baldia Town, two men were shot dead by unidentified attackers near NADRA office. One of the victims was identified as Shahzad aka Pappu, 27, while his colleague’s identity could not be ascertained. Police could not establish the political or sectarian affiliations of the victims, said SP Shahjahan Khan. An alleged drug peddler, Mohammad Yousuf, 25, was shot dead near Nasir Jump, said Korangi police.  The victim lived in Zia Colony and was targeted by unidentified assailants, DSP Qasim Ghauri said. The body was taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. Yousuf may have been killed by his colleagues over some dispute, the DSP added.

MPA attacked?

A woman parliamentarian of the ruling party was allegedly shot at near Punjab Chowrangi.

Sindh Assembly member, Kulsoom Chandio, was shot in the thigh as she headed toward her car parked outside a shop. She was there to buy school uniforms for her children. Unidentified attackers on two motorcycles fired at her, Kulsoom in her statement told the police. Clifton SHO Agha Shamshad told The Express Tribune that police could not find any evidence that suggested she was injured in a targeted attack. “No empty shell was found neither any shopkeeper confirmed the incident to the police,’ he added. Shamshad also questioned if the MPA had a security guard carrying a Kalashnikov with him, the attackers would have first attacked him instead of the woman legislator. The police are trying to ascertain if it was a targeted attack or a stray bullet had hit her.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2012.