KARACHI, May 31: A prominent educationist and his driver were gunned down in Karimabad in what police believed was a targeted attack on sectarian ground, while two others were shot dead in Katti Pahari and Baldia on Friday.

Syed Azfar Rizvi, in his 50s, had left his office for home in his chauffeured car when two armed motorcyclists opened fire on the car and fled, said Central SSP Amir Farooqui.

“Mr Rizvi died on the spot while his driver sustained bullet wounds,” he said. The driver, Abdul Ghaffar succumbed to his wounds later on while receiving treatment at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

Azfar Rizvi was the chief executive of Dhaka Group of Educational Institutions, a company that runs a chain of coaching centres in the city, including the Dhaka Coaching Centre. His murder spread shockwaves among thousands of students, and, friends and relatives.

SSP Farooqui believed that the killing had been motivated on sectarian grounds, though Mr Rizvi had been a Sunni. “The incident appears to be a result of targeted killing. Though Azfar Rizvi was Sunni, he might have been targeted for his name,” he said.

Mr Rizvi had been born in 1957 in Dhaka where his father had worked as a deputy collector. He had been studying in the Dhaka College during the secession of East Pakistan in 1971 and his family migrated to Karachi. After coming to Karachi, he did his master’s in chemistry from Karachi University.

Mr Rizvi had a humble background and considered his early days in the metropolis as a ‘very hard time when earning a living was too difficult,” as he had said in one of his interviews during his life, “I started giving tuitions in people’s homes to resolve my financial problems.”

Subsequently, he had set up his coaching centre.

Mr Rizvi had also served as the treasurer of the Karachi Arts Council and had been actively involved in holding monthly literary gatherings in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, according to his friend and arts council official, Dr Kaiser Sajjad.

He leaves behind his widow, Syeda Hasina Rizvi, who is the co-chairperson of Dhaka group, and six children.

Meanwhile, Muttahida Qaumi Movement spokesperson Wasay Jalil told Dawn that Azfar Rizvi was member of the party’s sector in Federal B. Area. Besides, he added, Mr Rizvi was also member of ‘residential committee’ of the party in the same area.