September 28, 2008	Sunday	Ramazan 27, 1429

KARACHI, Sept 27: Traffic remained suspended for at least one hour near Sohrab Goth as protesters blocked a portion of Super Highway on Saturday following the killing of a worker of the Awami National Party in an armed clash near Sikandar Goth, police and witnesses said.

A councillor of UC-12, Mehmood Khan Mehsood, who is also a member of the ANP’s Sindh cabinet, told Dawn that a land grabber, Azam Afridi, and his associates, backed by PPP activists, attempted to occupy a plot of land near Sikander Goth and they opened fire on the people when they resisted their move. The police, however, said that Azam Afridi was an extortionist and he had gone to extort money from a builder.

The ANP councillor said the victim, Mohammed Hanif, a resident of Sikander Goth, was a party worker. He said two other ANP workers, Zubair and Umerzada, were injured in the shootout. The police said a head constable and an assistant sub-inspector were also injured in the gunfire.