Leader of Bihari party gunned down

KARACHI: Armed men on a motorcycle opened fire on Aftab Malik, 55, outside the Fauji Hotel in No. 15, Orangi Town within the jurisdiction of the Pakistan Bazaar police station on Friday.

Malik was killed while 62-year-old Kaleem Akhtar, 55-year-old Ayub Kaka and 35-year-old Waqar Malik were injured. The deceased and the injured were taken to Civil Hospital, Karachi.

Malik had been drinking tea outside the hotel with friends when the men opened fire. Police said that Malik was the head and founder of the Bihari Qaumi Movement (BQM). He has left behind three daughters and two sons.

After the incident, the neighbourhood went tense.

Aftab Malik was an ex-union council nazim for UC14, Orangi Town and was elected with the support of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. He had recently established his party and used to hold party conventions in Orangi.

BQM activists staged a demonstration to protest the killing and shouted slogans against the two main ruling coalition parties in the Sindh government.

with additional input from PPI

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2010.