Targeted attacks: Police ask shops to close early for safety

Over a dozen people have lost their lives on attacks on eateries in Gulshan-e-Iqbal in one year.

KARACHI: Police officials have requested the owners of food outlets to close their shops before midnight in the wake of the rising number of incidents of targeted attacks at the eateries in Gulshan-e-Iqbal.

A large number of restaurants, tea stalls, ice cream parlours and fast food outlets located in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, particularly near Disco Bakery, Maskan Chowrangi, Abul Hassan Isphani Road and NIPA Chowrangi, serve customers till late night. The restaurants are frequented by people from all walks of life and are a popular destination for citizens seeking a late-night snack or dessert.

Unfortunately, these establishments have become a prime target as over a dozen people have lost their lives in incidents of target killings over the last one year. Most of the incidents occurred after midnight when armed assailants opened fire at the shops and fled away.

Last year, armed motorcyclists opened fire at Agha Haider Juice Centre and the One-Ten Fast Foods, located near Maskan Chowrangi in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. The juice centre’s owner and two other employees were killed in the attack which left another four people wounded. The injured included the owner of the fast food outlet, Jawad Haider. On December 7 last year, two brothers and their cousin, who were affiliated with the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), were shot dead at their sweet shop near Maskan Chowrangi.

The latest target of the assailants was the well-known Peshawari Ice Cream Parlour and Fast Foods located near NIPA Chowrangi in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. At around 1am, at least four armed men on two motorcycles arrived outside the shop and two of them opened indiscriminate fire at the ice-cream parlour. The shop’s owner, Saifullah, and his employee, Quresh Wahid, were killed while another employee, Mir Nawab, and a customer, Hina, were wounded in the attack.

“They (assailants) first targeted Saifullah and then opened indiscriminate fire at the shop,” said the injured employee, Nawab. “I tried to save myself but a bullet had already penetrated my abdomen.”

Saifullah had been running the shop from the last twelve years. The other shops in the area remained close on Wednesday to mourn his death. “He was not affiliated with any political party and had no enmity with anyone,” said his uncle, Sanaullah.

The police ruled out the possibility of extortion as none of the shop owners had received any extortion demands before the attack. The victims did not have any known enemies either. What was common in each attack was that the assailants used 9mm pistols.

Police believe that the attacks could be motivated by sectarian issues. “Apparently, this incident also occurred over sectarian basis,” said SHO Aurangzeb Khattak. “At 11:30pm, we visited the area and asked them to close the shop but they did not.” The officer said that the police were asking them to close their shops for their own safety because at this time of night, the target killers took advantage of the thin traffic to escape.

On other hand, the shopkeepers and business owners in the area expressed anger over the police’s inaction. “The police have asked us to close our shops by midnight, giving us lame excuses such as the shortage of personnel to provide protection,” said an owner of a fresh juice shop located near Disco Bakery in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. “Our business will be adversely affected if we close the shops according to the police’s advice.” Other shopkeepers say that the police have failed to provide them protection. “They (police) come to our shops for free food and juice,” said a manager at a fast food joint. “We used to give them food, juices and cold drinks so they would provide us with extra security but they have failed us.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2014.