Targeted killings: Three die in Gujranwala sectarian attacks

Triple murders spark protests in different neighbourhoods of the city.

GUJRANWALA:

At least three people were killed in two separate firing incidents at as many Imambargahs on Saturday. The attacks, which took place a few minutes apart, were followed by violent protests at and around the main city square, Alam Chowk.

The firing incidents occurred in Mominabad and Shahrukh Colony, where the two Imambargahs were targeted.

In the first incident, gunmen opened fire at Haji Yousaf, the imam of Imambargah Qasr-e-Abi Talib, killing him and a bystander on the spot.

A few minutes later, the finance secretary of Shia Ulema Council, Syed Javed Talat, was targeted in a similar fashion at Imambargah Zainabiah. He also died instantly.

According to City Police Officer (CPO) Raja Riffat Mukhtar, both were targeted attacks. Police detained nine suspects – six of them belong to a banned sectarian group.

Eyewitnesses claimed that there were no security arrangements at the Imambargahs and that the police reached the scene 40 minutes after the shootings.

Incensed by the targeted killings, local protesters forced shopkeepers on Hafizabad Road to shut down their businesses. They also placed the bodies of the victims at Alam Chowk, blocking the vehicular traffic for nearly three hours. Protests were staged at Alipur Chowk and Aziz Cross Chowk.

The protesters dispersed peacefully when CPO Mukhtar assured them that the killers would be arrested by the 12th of Muharram.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2013.