Gunned down: Cleric shot dead in Hyderabad, two others killed in Karachi

A man identified as Hafiz Fayyaz was shot dead in Abidabad.


Our Correspondents September 14, 2014

HYDERABAD/KARACHI: A Shia cleric was shot dead outside his residence in Latifabad town within the limits of B-Section police station on Sunday.

Syed Mohsin Raza Jaffri, 70, was watering the lawn outside his house in the morning when two unidentified assailants on a motorcycle fired at him and fled. Jaffri was immediately shifted to Bhittai Hospital, but did not survive the attack.

SHO Malik Qamar said that the culprits used a 9mm pistol in the attack. The police have recovered four to five shells from the site. “Eyewitnesses have told us that one of the attackers was wearing a helmet while the other was wearing a cap,” he added. He claimed that although many people had witnessed the shooting, most of them were unwilling to cooperate with the police.

Jaffri was the head of Anjuman-i-Guldasta-i-Akbari, which organises Latifabad’s largest Muharram 9 procession. Shia Ulema Council leader Taj Ali Shah and representatives of dozens of organisation have condemned the killing. “He was a kind and friendly person,” said Shah. “We don’t know if he had any enemies.”

Shahid Naqvi, a nephew of the deceased, told The Express Tribune that the FIR would be lodged when Jaffri’s elder son Ali Hyder Jaffri returned from China on Monday. Jaffri, a retired official of the State Bank of Pakistan, is survived by his wife and three sons. Enraged members of the community forced the markets to close in some parts of Latifabad and staged protests.

In Karachi

A leader of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat and a homeopathic doctor were killed in the city on Sunday.

A man identified as 50-year-old Hafiz Fayyaz was shot dead in Abidabad, Baldia Town within the limits of the Mochko police station on Sunday evening. The police said that he was a leader of the ASWJ and was sitting at his general store when two men on a motorcycle opened fire at him and ran away.

The body was taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for autopsy where a number of ASWJ members gathered and protested against the incident. They demanded that the authorities arrest those responsible immediately.

On Saturday night, a homeopathic doctor was killed in New Karachi. The incident took place in Sector 5-E, New Karachi within the limits of Bilal Colony police station. The deceased was identified as Dr Khalid, son of Muhammad Hussain. Police officials said that deceased was sitting at his clinic as per routine when two armed men entered and started firing at him. He died on the spot. Police officials said that the motive behind the incident was yet to be ascertained. They added that further investigation was underway.

Separately, two suspects were killed in an alleged encounter with the police in Orangi Town. The suspect was identified as Abbas and the injured as Imran. According to initial reports, the encounter took place when the two men tried to escape after attacking a police mobile. The deceased and injured were taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15th, 2014.

COMMENTS (1)

Hari Om | 9 years ago | Reply

For a country claimed to have been founded to provide a safe haven for the Muslims of the Indian Sub-Continent, the frequency with which Muslim kills Muslim over nothing more than petty differences in interpretation of the Muslim religion, is simply staggering. The frequency with which Muslim kills Muslim Religious personage like a Cleric/Scholar/Holyman etc. over nothing more than petty differences in interpretation of the Muslim religion, is beyond simply staggering. Indeed I can think of no other parallel case of similar magnitude where Buddhist kills Buddhist or Christian kills Christian or Hindu kills Hindu or Jews kill Jews over petty differences in interpretation of their respective Religions anywhere in the world over the past decade.

What is particularly ironic is that Pakistan’s founder Mr. M.A. Jinnah would have risked life and limb for following the practices of his original Shia sect of Islam in today’s Pakistan.

Next I wait to hear the oft repeated statement that there is no such thing as intra Muslim sectarian killings in Pakistan as it is inconceivable that a Muslim can kill another Muslim as Islam is the Religion of Peace where even killing one person is considered as killing all humanity making instances like these killings, in Pakistani minds, a RAW / Mossad / CIA perpetrated act by India / Israel / USA to malign Islam and Pakistan.

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