KARACHI, April 26: A local leader of the Pakistan People’s Party was shot dead in Lyari while he was leading a protest rally to the Supreme Court registry building on M.R. Kiani Road against the conviction of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday, police said.

Ex-naib nazim of Lyari Malik Mohammad Khan Niazi was killed after he confronted some armed men, who tried to disperse the protesters by firing into the air, at Aath Chowk near Noorani Hotel, the officials said.

“The armed men tried to stop the procession and started firing into air. Everyone, except Niazi, ran for safety,” said another PPP leader.

The Kalakot police said that he was apparently leading the crowd in his jeep when gunmen riding a motorcycle shot at him. The body was taken to the Civil Hospital Karachi for a post-mortem examination.

According to a medico-legal officer, Mr Niazi sustained two gunshot wounds, one each to the head and stomach. The MLO told Dawn that the victim had died instantly.

Soon after the murder, PPP leaders Nabeel Gabol and Nisar Khuhro and a large number of activists gathered at the hospital.

“We know who is behind the murder,” remarked Mr Gabol who was a close friend of Mr Niazi.

He demanded that the government enforce curfew in Lyari and order law-enforcers to bear down on criminals.

No case was lodged with the Kalakot police till Thursday night.

Resident of Singhu Lane, Mr Niazi had contested elections on a PPP ticket.

Earlier on Thursday morning, the police had found the body of an identified young man in the Darayabad area of Lyari.

The body bearing gunshot wounds and torture marks was found near Tayyab General Store, said an official at the Kalri police station.

The victim wearing trousers and a T-shirt appeared to be a native of Lyari, he added.

The police believed that he had been kidnapped and murdered somewhere else before his body was dumped near the shop.

The body was later shifted to the civil hospital for medico-legal formalities and then to the Edhi morgue for want of identification.

ANP activist killed

An activist of the Awani National Party was shot dead near Babar Market within the remit of the Landhi police station Thursday.

Thirty-year-old Gul Shan Khan aka Rambo was riding his motorcycle when he was targeted near the market, said an official at the Landhi police station.

He added that the attackers who were said to be on a motorbike fled.

The victim sustained two gunshot wounds to his head and died on the spot. The body was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal formalities.

“He was an active worker of the ANP,” said Landhi SHO Mazhar Iqbal Awan.

The victim was a resident of Landhi No 1 and had a rental motorcycle shop in the area.

“While the motive of the murder is yet to be ascertained, initial circumstances indicated that it was an act of targeted killing,” said the SHO.

Following the murder, tension gripped parts of Quaidabad and Landhi with closure of all major shops and markets.