KARACHI: A newspaper hawker was shot dead in a suspected sectarian attack in Joharabad on Sunday, police said.

They added that 35-year-old Syed Abbas Akhlaq was sitting at his news-stand at the Water Pump traffic intersection near the Mamu Kabab House in Block-14, F.B Area, when armed motorcyclists attacked him.

He sustained critical wounds and was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. The victim was a resident of Ancholi.

“The murder may have been carried out on faith grounds,” Joharabad SHO Rashid Hussain said.

Suspect killed in ‘encounter’

A suspect was shot dead in an ‘encounter’ in New Karachi on Sunday, police said.

They added that a police party indicated a motorcyclist to stop near the Saleem Centre.

However, the suspect opened fire upon which the police returned fire and following the ‘encounter’ Mohammed Faisal, aka Maka, was wounded and arrested.

He was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where he died, said Gulberg SP Chaudary Asad Ali.

He claimed that the dead was involved in 15 ‘targeted killing’ cases.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2014