Imam was earlier attacked as well, after which he limited his movement in the city. PHOTO: PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY OF SINDH
KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) MPA Syed Manzar Imam was killed by six unidentified gunmen in the Orangi Town area of Karachi on Thursday, reported Express News.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) claimed responsibility for the killing, Dawn.com reported.
According to initial reports, Imam was leaving his house when he was attacked by gunmen on three motorcycles. Imam was shot eight times and succumbed to his injuries while on his way to the hospital.
Three guards accompanying Imam were also injured in the incident.
"A member of the Sindh provincial assembly was killed with three of his guards when gunmen on two motorcycles intercepted his car in Orangi neighbourhood and shot them with automatic weapons," police spokesman Imran Shaukat told AFP.
MQM Chief Altaf Hussain, President Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, Sindh Assembly Speaker Nisar Khuhro, Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi condemned the killing along with other political leaders.
Tensions rose in Karachi immediately after Thursday's shooting. Many markets closed and people rushed home to avoid any potential violent backlash.
Imam was earlier attacked as well, after which he limited his movement in the city and increased security arrangements.
Announcing three days of mourning, MQM Coordination Committee asked its supporters to remain peaceful.
The Private School Association also announced that schools will remain closed tomorrow.
In August 2010, MQM MPA Raza Haider from the same Orangi Town constituency was shot in the Nazimabad area of Karachi – an incident which sparked violence across the city taking lives of 11 people and wounding 35 in one day.
Raza Haider was targeted after he attended a funeral in a mosque. He was injured as a result of the shooting and succumbed to his injuries at a nearby hospital.
COMMENTS (62)
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@Adnan: Minor correction: we are all PAKISTANIs. Some of us are not Muslims but are equally deserving of mutual respect, dignity, and state protection. Slogans like this ("We are all Muslims") are part of the problem.
An MP gets killed and ET could not keep the news item on the main page for 24 hours, very unfortunate
Stop Shia persecution in Pakistan.
RIP... Its always tit for tat ...Killers destiny is almost n mostly same !! ALLAH Save us from Hypocrates !!
@salman
Well that was my thought when I saw the news first, but as it developed we found out that some of the guards were also killed, so i guess my bad then....
Mr. Imam was the second leader killed within a month by the TTP terrorists. Our condolences go out to the families and friends of MQM leader Syed Manzar Imam and four of his police guards who were also killed in this blatant attack. The terrorists without any remorse take responsibility of these heinous crimes. Their main goal is to destabilize the government and spread fear and chaos. We support the government of Pakistan in its effort to rid the region of all terrorist activities. The people of the region have suffered enough, and now is the time to neutralize all terrorists once and for all.
Abdul Quddus DET-United States Central Command www.centcom.mil/ur
all peace loving people must condemn this blatant and cowardly murder of an elected leader. The lack of respect for elected leaders says a lot about the future of Pakistan. Most secular and Shia leaders of "all" political parties are targeted by the extremist terrorists and there is no ending. May God bless his soul and RIP.
@Sufi: Who makes them judges? Please discontinue your support of the sectarians like LEJ/taliban/sipah-e-sahaba. They are threat to all who declare anyone Kafir and Wajib-ul-Qatl with the blink of an eye.
It is the duty of Government authorities to protect the lives of their citizens but they are not taking these murders seriously. What they are waiting for? Why They do not capture the culprits perpetrating this shia genocide? They have seen the reaction of Quetta incident but they have closed their eyes and ears. Why they are compelling shias to raise and to go to the point of no return!!!
An ordinary MPA from PPP or any other ruling dynasty party, feudals are seen daily in their bullet proof Suvs roaming around dha and.Clifton with their militias and tonnes of police. Its only when you see how basic an MPA from MQM spends his life, you realize the difference between people from grassroot levels have been brought in the assemblies. You only see an MQM minister in an old 2005 government white corollary without illegal tints.he had a curtain, which is legally acceptable.moreover,his background and living standards are far below the common19grade government official. This is empowerment of the middle class grassroot level that threatens to shake the earth under ruling elites' feet. Rest in Peace. Stay safe the rest of you.
Syed Manzar Imam. R.i.p. You were not Shia but represented those Pakistanis who are at one with their fellow Pakistanis, above sectarian considerations. You died for raising you voice against terror and the wholesale Qatal-i-aam that is going on around us, including that of Shia Pakistanis.
not as much trouble as it gave us! i couldnt find public transport,my dad was out of the city and my mom was freaking out! its tragic a person is killed but do the supporters wanna unleash their rage on their own people? damage personal property? what is that gonna get us? i think pakistan is not meant for democracy.protesting should be banned.weve experimented again and again and violence seems to be in the blood.... rip to this fellow.
and i want to tell people here that this fellow has been very active in making sure the arrangements of Tableeghi Jamat annual ijtimas in Orangi Town.....so please we all are muslims and every muslim life is previous be it Shia or Sunni.....please try to understand who want you to kill each other.....its time to show unity
@Sufi: Really ! What about the innocent Hazara, the worshippers at various Imambargahs, funerals, and hospitals that were bombed? Were they all sectarian? And in Syed Manzar Imam's case, was his 'sectarian' activity merely sympathizing with the victims and mourning with them? Shame on you, LeJ, and its sympathizers. We, the Pakistanis of all faiths and maslaks, condemn this killing and all targetted killings and demand swift, exemplary, and strict action against the perpetrators and their sympathizers. They need to be wiped out.
MAY ALLAH BLESS HIS FAMILY #ShaheedManzarImam
@Aurangzaib: Nobody is blaming on sects. It is an insult to a sunni to call these animals for LEJ/taliban/sipah-e-sahaba as sunni, infact it is an insult to an animal to call these devils and followers of abu jahel as animals. They are not going to spare anyone, and we must stop them and pressurize our agencies to stop supporting them and destroy them completely for everyone's and country's security.
Shuda Qabristan? So you mean to say MQM has a separate dedicated graveyard for all its workers who are killed for the cause? And you call them terrorists?
@Sufi:
Very very wrong and insensitive to those who lost their lives sufi sahab. The devils from LEJ target anyone who happened to be shia, I know countless people who were not involve in even healthy activism of any kind.
@Aurangzaib:
No one is blaming on sect, it is an insult to sunnis to call these animals from LEJ/sipah-e-sahaba/taliban a sunni, infact it is insult to animals to call these devils as animals. They are not going to spare anyone, we all need to unite and pressurize our agencies to stop supporting them and destroy them completely. This is the only way we can make sure that nothing sort of Iraq happens in Pakistan.
@Hairaan: and dont u consider shia, muslim?
Where is the Law and Order? Allah help us. Qadri and his amazing supporters have come at the right time to make the change Pakistan requires. RIP. My heart bleeds when I see a young man with such promise like this man die.
@ Dany .. 3 Guards were killed along with Shaheed MPA please do not try and turn this into a conspiracy theory
@Sufi: do you mean to say that all 4000 Shias who have been killed over the last 4-5 years were involved in some sectarian activities?? you can't be serious..!!!
MAY ALLAH BLESS HIS FAMILY
don't forget we are under threat by the external forces. iraq demolished by exploiting SHIA suni conflicts then labia, Then Egypt and Sariya now last target is Pakistan.........now we must be united rather than blaming on sects.....
@Pessimistic Pakistani @salman:
I think Zeenia was sarcastic there.
Everyone knows who kill him. i want to tell the name but i know the admin will not approve my comments as they usually do. but i want share one the yesterday someone in malir (hasan) killed as he was leading malir protest after quetta incident and manzar imam was also leading nazimabad protest so i am thinking who is next ?
Once again a Member of Sindh Assembly gunned down, but no body will care as there is no value of human life in Pakistan.
May Al-Mighty Allah rest his soul in peace and give strength to his family members to bear the irrepareable loss of human life. Ameen.
May Allah grant him high ranks in jannah, ameen.
Where is Rana Sanaullah now?
Very sad indeed, may he rest in peace and may god have mercy to him and all of us.Something seems fishy tho, all of his guards survived and he couldn't.
Inna Lillah .....
here we go again ...
I am sure the Rangers and Police will dissappeared immediately as usual. The people returing from offices and businesses will be left on the mercy of " unknown" terrorists who are actually very well known. Those who earned bread and butter for their family on daily basis will return to homes with empty hands. No one cares for them. This is the fate of Karachiites, the same routine being exercised since many years and people are now so habitual to face such incidents.Actually Karachhites opted for Linguistics based Politics and Now they are reaping the fruits of it,They should have think long before when they were promoting and backing up the politics of hatred. You only get nothing more than what you have been planning and working for. Elect better and honest people in Next elections instead of going for nationalism based politics.Better Luck in next elections.
God bless our country
My heart bleeds on the incidents of murdering innocent people.All my sympathy and prayers are with the family of Syed Manzar Imamam Shaheed. May Allah receive the departed soul in His infinite mercy and rest it in eternal peace. Ameen.
@Zeenia: Syed Manzar Imam is not a Shia.
May God protect innocent Karachiites and their properties.
may Allah SWT guide people out of the political abyss. they waste their precious lives, leave their families in a helpless situation for people who are having a gala time in london.
Same goes for all other parties.
May allah bless him.My area is also closed by this.
Sectarian Organizations target a person when he is also involved in some sectarian activity.......
@ Zeenia , we only realize when it hits us personally , Ahmedis were treated and threatened the same way over decades. Every sect decided to stay quiet and they never protested against the excessive treatment by state . Shias are going through the similar phase , once done with shias next will be barelvis and sufis in line.
abb yeh kasar reha gai thi..... Karachi shut down for another week... Huh!!!
This means Karachi will be on fire again. Lovely
This madness and killings in country has to stop.This is insane
@omair shahid: and half of it burnt down
May Allah Taa'la give sabr to his family in this difficult time. And may He have mercy on this country. Ameen.
May he rest in peace... Interesting fact is how the 3 guards were only injured and he died?
@Zeenia: I thought he was a Muslim!!!
Inallilah Wo Ina ellahi Rejeon!
He was a great humble person and May Allah destroy the perpetrators behind this attack! God bless Shia Community, God bless MQM!!
This is Shia genocide once again.
Zeenia, this is part of Shia genocide. The MPA was vocal against anti-Shia violence and was a strong presence at the Shia sit-ins recently. He has allegedly been shot dead by LeJ who also claimed responsibility for the Hazara killings.
For perspective, Pakistan has now at Stage 7 of Genocide Watch. 4000 Shias have been killed over the last 4-5 years. And those are just the documented killings. We've seen Shias doctors and lawyers and others being killed over the last 15 years.
When people are sought out and targetted for murder solely for their faith and when there is a propaganda campaign against them at the same time, that my friend is a genocide.
Why no one asks Punjab Govt about incompetence rather electoral alliance with LeJ, SSP etc...
And now starts the killing spree by "unknown" terrorists
Tommorrow will be strike in Karachi
now the whole city will closed down
God Bless our country!
May he Rest In Peace .. LJ, SSP and Talibani gangs are now stronger than ever. 2nd MPA lost by MQM to terrorists
And then they say what shia genocide.
RIP
allah reham karay...