KARACHI: A fisherman was shot dead while his brother and another fisherman sustained bullet wounds when armed men travelling in a boat attacked their boat at sea near Port Qasim on Sunday afternoon, police, hospital and a fishermen organisation’s officials said.

The police attributed the incident to ‘internal fighting’ among the fishermen, but Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum chairman Muhammad Ali Shah told Dawn that some local influential people were behind the murder.

He added that fishermen had resisted their (influential people) attempt to illegally occupy several acres of precious land at the coast of Ibrahim Hyderi, the other day.

“We received young man Usman brought dead to the hospital,” said Dr Seemin Jamali, executive director of the JPMC.

‘Land grabbers’ blamed for the attack

He sustained a bullet wound on his neck, added Dr Jamali.

City SSP Sheeraz Nazeer told Dawn that sea in the province came under the jurisdiction of the Docks police station and it was not possible for them to visit the crime scene at sea.

Mr Nazeer said that as per initial reports, the incident appeared to be an outcome of ‘fighting’ among fishermen.

Docks SHO Waqar Kaiser said that he had sent the police to the JPMC to get information about the incident from the wounded persons and the victim’s relatives.

The PFF’s Muhammad Ali Shah said that on Saturday some local influential people had tried to grab around 40-50 acres of land located in Rerhi Goth near the sea.

They tried to build a wall to occupy the land. However, fishermen residing there put up resistance.

Mr Shah said that they had heard that the local influential people had intended to give this land to foreign investors for commercial use.

On Sunday, some fishermen went fishing at sea near Port Qasim in a boat when the suspects travelling in a speedboat opened fire on them.

As a result of the attack, Usman Hamza died from bullet wounds on the spot while his brother Abdul Ghafoor and another fisherman Hashim received bullet wounds.

The armed suspects escaped in the boat.

The PFF chairman demanded arrest of the culprits involved in the incident.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2018