KARACHI, Jan 16: Tension prevailed in the (now defunct) district Central areas on Thursday in the aftermath of the murder of the two Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers late Wednesday night.
The victims, Salman Farooqui and Masood, were shot dead by unidentified assailants while they were sitting near their house, behind Saghir Centre in Block 16 of F B Area.
Salman Farooqui (30) was rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where pronounced dead on arrival. Umar Din (32), who was among those injured in the attack, was admitted to the hospital. Masood (25), was taken to a private hospital in Block 20 of F B Area and pronounced dead on arrival. His body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for postmortem later.
A large number of the MQM leaders, who included some provincial ministers, as well as activists and supporters visited the hospital soon after the attack.
Commercial activities in all the blocks of F B Area and many other parts of the district remained suspended as the MQM supporters mourned the deaths and observed protest against the killings.
Meanwhile, certain prominent figures of Jamaat-i-Islami have been nominated in the FIR No. 6/2003 registered at Jauharabad police station on the complaint of Umar Din, one of those injured in the attack.
Besides two unknown persons, the complainant has nominated Syed Munawwar Hassan, Secretary General of JI, Dr Meraj-ul-Huda Siddiqui, City Chief of the party, Faizanullah, Nazim of UC-6, and Muhammad Saleem, an MMA activist.
As the situation grew tense, shops and markets, including the main bazaar at Water Pump in F B Area, did not open Thursday morning. Many government and private schools in the area also remained closed.
Similar reports were received from Ancholi, Samnabad and Gulberg where commercial activities remained suspended throughout the day.
Vehicular traffic, however, remained normal in the Central district.
Shops, business establishments, markets and shopping areas in some parts of Gulshan Town also remained closed. Shops at Hasan Square did opened in the morning, but angry youths forced them to pull down shutters, according to some shopkeepers of the locality.
Commercial areas of Liaquatabad were badly affected by the tension where business remained suspended in protest against the killings.
A truck (No. ZBF-356) was set ablaze in front of Yousuf Plaza in F B Area by unknown miscreants on Thursday evening whereas two other vehicles were set on fire near Bhai Jan Chowk, also in F B Area the previous night.
There were reports of sporadic incidents of aerial firing in different parts of the city late Wednesday night.
Police, in a pre-dawn raid on a house in Liaquatabad, picked up a suspect of the attack. A senior police official confirmed this but declined to identify the man.
There were also reports of more people having been rounded up in raids but the raids or arrests could not be confirmed.
The deceased activist, Masood, was laid to rest at a graveyard in Azizabad on Thursday in presence of a large number his relatives besides party leaders, activists and supporters.
Funeral rites of Salman Farooqi have been delayed till Friday. He will be laid to rest in Model Colony, Moinabad No.2 after Juma prayers.
