Elderly couple gunned down in targeted attack

Separately, two brothers were killed for their alleged support to Uzair Baloch.

KARACHI: An elderly man and his wife were shot dead in a targeted attack within the limits of the Docks police on Wednesday.

The incident took place on Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan Road as the couple was on the way to their home situated in Defence Phase V. Some unidentified assailants targeted the two. The deceased man was identified as 70-year-old Muhammad Javed and the woman as Shirin, 60.

Javed used to work as a clearing and forwarding agent at Seagold Private Limited in Karachi. According to their relatives, Javed had two wives. He had two children with his first wife who was living in the United Kingdom and had none with his second wife, Shirin. He had married Shirin about 15 years ago in Karachi.

Initial investigations suggested that armed men riding a motorcycle shot and killed the victims when they were returning home after having dinner at Boat Club in their rented Suzuki Mehran car.

“As soon as Javed slowed the car down to take a U-turn from the service road, two young men - one clad in a shalwar kameez and the other in a shirt and pants - who had been following them, opened fire,” said Docks SHO Sajjad Mangi, while citing the closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage. The assailants managed to escape, he added.



The couple was taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre but died on the way. Javed was shot once in the head while his wife was shot once in the chest.

While the police have yet to ascertain the actual motive behind the incident, they suggested that the couple might have been killed over some monetary dispute. “The documents recovered from the victims’ car suggest that they might have been killed over a monetary dispute but nothing can be said exactly until the investigation is completed,” said Mangi.

The police were also trying to obtain the footages recorded at the CCTV cameras installed en route.

Since Javed had no relatives in Karachi, the nephew of his wife, Imran, received the bodies. However, a case has yet to be registered as the family said that they will register an FIR after the funeral and burial.

Earlier, two brothers were killed and another was wounded in Jahanabad, Pak Colony, late Tuesday night. The deceased were identified as Kamran, 25, and Imran Raza, 28, while their injured brother was identified as Adnan. The bodies and injured were taken to Civil Hospital, Karachi, for autopsies and treatment.

Police officials said that the incident took place when at least four unidentified men riding two motorcycles opened indiscriminate fire when the brothers were standing at a ‘dabbu’ club. Police officials said that the victims had no criminal record but they were believed to be supporters of Lyari-based Uzair Baloch group. Police officials believe that they might have been attacked by members of the rival group. Further investigations are underway.

Similarly, a fruit vendor was shot dead near Khyber Hotel within the limits of the Manghopir police. The deceased was identified as Sher Khan, 50. Police officials said that the victim was visiting his friend, Omar. Omar was cleaning his gun when the vendor was accidently killed by him. The police have detained Omar and initiated further investigations.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th, 2014.