KARACHI, May 15: Five persons, including an activist of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) and a suspected robber, were gunned down in different parts of the city on Wednesday, police said.

The ASWJ activist was shot dead in Korangi and another worker was wounded in firing on the funeral prayer for the former, according to party sources and police.

The police said Hafiz Sajjad, 40, had left his residence in Korangi 2 ½ and was on his way when gunmen intercepted him near Vita Chowrangi and fired at him. The victim was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), where doctors pronounced him dead, they added.

Korangi Industrial Area SHO Mohammad Ali said Mr Sajjad was on his way to his electric repair shop in Korangi when he was targeted. “Apparently, it was an incident of targeted killing,” he said.

Tension prevailed in the area following the murder.

ASWJ spokesperson Maulana Akbar Saeed Farooqi told Dawn that the victim was an active member of the party’s Korangi sector and head of the Muttahida Deeni Mahaz parliamentary committee for the provincial assembly constituency, PS-125.

Mr Farooqi said a scuffle had broken out between ASWJ workers and their rival party in Korangi on polling day over alleged rigging and the rival party workers had threatened Mr Sajjad with dire consequences.

The funeral of the ASWJ activist was later held outside Osman Ghani mosque on Korangi Road.

The ASWJ spokesperson said that gunmen resorted to firing at the mourners, leaving one their activists, Rizwan, wounded. He was admitted to the JPMC.

Mr Farooqi said that six party workers were ‘kidnapped’ on Wednesday. Two of them were later found in Korangi with torture marks. They were identified as Amjad and Hanif while the whereabouts of four others were still not known, he added. He said both police and Rangers did nothing to prevent this from happening.

Man killed in Korangi Another man was shot dead in Korangi, police said.

They added that Ali Hasan, 32, was returning home after offering Isha prayers in ‘Bengali Camp’ in Sector 34/3 when two armed motorcyclists attacked him. He was taken to the JPMC where he died during treatment, the police said.

Man killed in Shershah A young man was gunned down in Shershah, police said.

They added that 26-year-old Hanif, son of Farid, was gunned down near his residence on Akbar Road.

The victim was a labourer, the police said.

The police quoted the victim’s family as saying that they did not have enmity with anyone. A case was lodged against unidentified persons, they said.

Suspected robber killed in Clifton

A suspected robber was gunned down while another was wounded in what police described as an encounter in Clifton on Wednesday night. The suspects were allegedly looting women in Clifton Block-9 when the police party challenged them. In an ensuing encounter, both the suspects were wounded. They were taken to the JPMC where the deceased was identified as Javed, 28, while Sajid, 20, was admitted for treatment.

Youth killed in attack on shop

A youth was shot dead and a man was wounded in an attack on a shop in the Preedy area on Wednesday, police said. They added that Mohammad Sameer, 19, died of bullet wounds while the shop owner Arshad was wounded in the attack on an electric shop near Ratan Talao area. The attackers fled on a motorbike after the shooting, the police said. They added that the victim was a resident of Jodia Bazaar.