Owais Muzzafar attack: Warrants issued for arrest of Shirazis

Non-bailable warrants issued for the influential Shirazis of Thatta.

HYDERABAD: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Thatta directed that warrants be issued for the non-bail arrest of MPA Aijaz Shah Shirazi and Shafqat Shah Shirazi along with 10 people in connection to an attack on PPP leader Owais Muzzafar Tappi, Express News reported on Thursday.

On May 11 unidentified gunmen had opened fire on the car of Muzaffar's car, injuring four of his guards. The court has been presiding over a case to rule on the life-threatening attack on Muzzafar. He is considered as one of President Asif Ali Zardari’s closest aides and has been widely known as being a key power player in the Lyari gang wars.

The PPP had lost provincial seats to the influential Shirazis in Thatta.

PPP’s Abdul Hameed Soomro was defeated by Syed Aijaz Shah Sherazi on PS-84 by 292 votes, while former culture minister Sassui Palijo lost her seat to Syed Ameer Hyder Shah Shirazi on the recount.

The Shirazis recently parted ways with PPP and were determined to give the party a tough time in the elections.

Shirazi had explained that they decided to leave the PPP when it nominated Tappi, as they believed he was involved in land grabbing in their district.

Correction: An earlier version of this report incorrectly stated that Shafqat Shah Shirazi is an MPA.