KARACHI: Two clerics associated with the banned Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) were killed at a seminary in Gulshan-i-Iqbal on Tuesday.

Police said armed men riding a motorbike pulled up outside Jama Masjid Madina attached with Madressah Iqra-i-Babul Itfal. One of them entered the seminary and killed Mufti Ghulam Akbar, 55, and Mufti Kamran Shamshair, 45, before speeding away with his aide, they added.

The bodies were later shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), where a large number of ASWJ activists and leaders gathered.

In the meantime, police collected several spent bullet casings of 9mm pistol from the crime-scene, said Gulshan-i-Iqbal SHO Inspector Safdar Mashwani. He added: “We are still in the process of collecting evidence and recording statements of the people concerned. The killing seemed to be targeted one but it would be little too early to arrive at any conclusion about their motive,” he said.

Police were also getting assistance of some witnesses to establish identity of the attackers, he added.

Condemning the killing, the ASWJ spokesman said the deceased were targeted due to their association with the religious group. “Police and security agencies have failed to protect party workers and leaders despite several assurances. Our workers are being targeted consistently but the law-enforcement agencies have failed to take any credible action,” he added.

Earlier in the morning, a young man was shot dead in Korangi, police said.

They added that 34-year-old Saim Abbas was attacked in Korangi 3½ while he was heading to his workplace. “The motive for the killing is not clear,” said Awami Colony SHO Inspector Inayatullah Marwat.

However, he added, it was not related to any mugging attempt.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2016

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