Lawless land: Khairpur university employee shot dead in targeted attack

13 people die in one month in Khairpur.

SUKKUR:

For the residents of Khairpur District, there seems to be no respite from the deteriorating law and order situation. The hometown of the recently re-elected Sindh chief minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, has seen as many as 13 people dead and many others injured in the aftermath of the general elections last month.

An employee of Shah Abdul Latif University (Salu), Khairpur, was targeted on Tuesday, when a university bus was on its way to the institute from Kumb. The bus was intercepted by a group of armed men near Jaskani village. The alleged assailants, after checking the identification of the passengers, pulled down an employee of the institute, Ameer Ali Tumrani, and shot him dead. The deceased, Ameer Ali Tumrani was reportedly employed as a clerk in the department of international relations in Salu, Khairpur.

When reports of the incident reached Kumb town, all commercial activities were suspended while scores of enraged residents took to the streets and staged a sit-in protest with the body of the deceased on the road. The police reached the site and asked the protesters to disperse. The angry mob refused, however, to leave and started pelting stones at the police vehicle.

The police personnel, in retaliation, baton-charged the protesters which further enraged them so they attacked the police in return. As a result, a police official, Lal Dino Behan, was reportedly injured. Sensing the anger of the protesters, the police left the scene.



Kumb police station’s assistant head constable, Imam Bux, confirmed the incident. He told The Express Tribune that the injured official, Behan, was a constable at the police station. He added that the motive behind the murder could not be ascertained yet and no case had been registered. Khairpur ASP Masood Ahmed Bangash told The Express Tribune that the situation was now under control and raids were being conducted to apprehend the culprits.

Reaction from university officials

Salu Khairpur vice-chancellor Dr Parveen Shah and other officials have strongly condemned what they claim to be an act of ‘cold-blooded murder’ of the institute’s employee. Expressing their condolences for the bereaved family, they have demanded immediate arrest of the culprits. According to university sources, the institute was closed at 10am as a token of protest against the incident.

A bloody month

The past few weeks after the general elections have witnessed a wave of lawlessness in the chief minister’s hometown. Nearly 13 people have lost their lives.

On May 11, one person was killed and five others injured in firing, allegedly by Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Nawab Wassan.

Separately, three people were killed and several injured in armed clashes between the supporters of two political parties on May 16.

The town of Thari Mir Wah remained tense for eight consecutive days due to the alleged kidnapping of a young girl which sparked tensions between two clans. On May 28, six people were killed and two others injured in an armed clash between two groups of the Lashari clan over a karo kari dispute. On June 2, two brothers were showed dead over a matter of personal enmity, while on June 4, a SALU employee was shot dead in broad daylight.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2013.