Use of force: Funeral procession turns violent as ASWJ activists laid to rest

Three activists were shot dead outside a mosque in Patel Para on Monday.

KARACHI: The funeral of four members of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) was held on Tuesday. Shah Rasool, Abdul Raheem Waheed and Imran Ahmed alias Raju had been shot dead by armed men near a mosque in Patel Para, Subhani Masjid, on Monday. Meanwhile, the body of Furqan Bandhani was found from Lyari Expressway near Gharibabad.

ASWJ activists later protested against the killing of their companions at Lasbella Chowk. The funeral prayers for the deceased were originally meant to be offered there, but were later shifted to another location after some protesters started throwing stones at police officials deputed nearby. The police reportedly responded by using teargas shelling and batons to disperse the protestors.

ASWJ spokesperson Maulana Akbar Saeed criticised the police action. “Five of our workers are killed in one day, and we are not even allowed to take out their funeral procession in peace.”

SP Jamshed Town Usman Bajwa, however, claimed that the police took action only after the participants at the funeral procession had turned violent. No one was taken into custody, he claimed. The deaths of the ASWJ workers are being investigated, added Bajwa.