Iftikhar, 26, was a resident of Pak Colony and was collecting hides for the welfare arm of the party, the Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation.
Residents of the apartment block said the violence erupted when a group of party activists came around the apartment for the hides. Muhammad Usman, the alleged gunman who opened fire on Iftikhar, reportedly had an exchange of hot words with the activists and the situation spiralled out of control.
The situation remains tense in the neighbourhood surrounding the crime scene, which is just metres away from the DG Rangers bungalow.
According to Aziz Bhatti police station’s duty officer Niaz Sheikh, Usman was an activist of the Sunni Tehreek and was also the union president of the apartment block.
His son and nephew, who also allegedly took part in the clash, were activists of the student wing of the Pakistan Peoples Party, the Peoples Students Federation.
Sunni Tehreek spokesperson Fahimuddin Sheikh denied that Usman was a party worker. “We are structured in such a way that even if one of our activists gets a needle prick, we get to know,” he said.
The FIR, No. 694, lists Usman, Waqar and Asif Latha as the suspects nominated under sections 147, 148, 149, 324 and 302.
MQM headquarters Nine Zero issued a press release, saying that party chief Altaf Hussain was deeply grieved over the death of their worker, who belonged to the student wing of the party, the All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organisation.
“Armed terrorists fired upon workers of the APMSO, resulting in the death of Iftikhar Ahmed and injuries to Sibtain, Wasim Mirza, Tufail and Nasim Khan,” it said.
The MQM co-ordination committee strongly condemned the “act of flagrant terrorism and termed it a vicious attempt to destroy peace in the city”.
The body demanded President Asif Zardari, PM Yousaf Raza Gillani, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza take serious note of the incident and arrest the killers, the press release added.
Meanwhile, two other men were killed reportedly in similar violence over the collection of hides in Lyari.
According to the Capital City Police Officer, two people, Fayaz and Samiullah, belonging to the Niazi community, were shot dead by gangsters in Lyari on Wednesday for refusing to hand over animal hides.
The murders took place within the remit of Baghdadi police station.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 20th, 2010.
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