KARACHI, May 28: A Sindh High Court advocate and his two sons were gunned down in firing on their car on Mauripur Road on Tuesday morning in what police said was a ‘sectarian’ attack.

Kausar Saqlain Abbas, 40, was going to drop his children Aun Abbas, 12, and Mohammad Abbas, 18, to Sindh Madressatul Islam University school in their car when he was targeted, the police added.

The killing prompted the Karachi and Malir bar associations to boycott courts and the Majlis-i-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) to observe three-day mourning.

The protesting lawyers and MWM activists also staged a sit-in on the arterial M.A. Jinnah Road.

Taking notice of the murder, the SHC chief justice directed the police chief to submit a report in court.

According to lawyers’ representatives, Saqlain Abbas was the 12th advocate killed in the city over the past six months and third during this month alone.

Earlier on May 3, a senior lawyer and his son, also a lawyer, were gunned down on Mauripur Road on their way to an Imambargah in Kharadar.

“During the past six months, 12 lawyers have been killed in the metropolis,” said SHC bar association president Mustafa Lakhani, who saw a ‘heinous conspiracy’ in the murder aimed at diverting attention of lawyers from their professional responsibility and preventing them from pursuing cases.

However, Karachi Bar Association President Naeem Qureshi said the victim had not been pleading any high-profile case. “It seems that he along with his sons was targeted only on sectarian grounds,” he added.

Investigation Police investigators said Mr Abbas left his residence located on Fazal Ghani Street in Machhar Colony (Mohammadi Colony) in a Suzuki Margalla (U-9535) to drop his sons to the SMI school. As they reached near the railway track, just opposite Ghulaman-i-Abbas on Mauripur Road, the attacker who was waiting for them opened fire on the car and fled, the police said.

“The two brothers died on the spot while their father died during treatment at the Civil Hospital Karachi,” said Kalri SHO Haji Sanaullah.

“A 9mm pistol was used in the attack,” he said, adding that this weapon was commonly used in targeted killings across the city.

Speaking to Dawn, DIG South Dr Amir Sheikh said: “Apparently, it was a case of sectarian killing.”

However, he said, a ‘strange thing’ he noticed about the killing was that a lone attacker riding a motorbike was involved in it unlike other targeted attacks that were usually carried out by at least two motorcyclists. He said he had arrived at the conclusion considering the evidence collected so far.

The victims were hit by bullets in the head and abdomen fired from a close range, he added.

The police, meanwhile, registered a case against unidentified killers on a complaint of a victim’s cousin, Nasir-ul-Hasan, under Section 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

They said the lawyer was also Nuha Khwan of Anjuman-i-Ghulamanan-i-Hasnain. He originally belonged to Chakwal, Punjab, the police said.

Funeral Following the medico-legal formalities performed at the Civil Hospital Karachi, the bodies were taken to the Numaish traffic intersection on M.A. Jinnah Road for the funeral.

The funeral was attended by MWM supporters besides relatives and friends of the victims.

Protesting over the killing, they demanded that the authorities arrest the killers and staged an hours-long sit-in to press for their demand.

The MWM later announced that three-day mourning would be observed in the city over the tragedy.

According to Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, at least 69 persons have fallen victim to sectarian attacks from January to April in the metropolis.

Lawyers protest Meanwhile, the legal proceedings remained suspended at the subordinate judiciary of the city as lawyers observed a boycott of courts and staged a sit-in on M.A. Jinnah Road against the killing of their colleague.

While boycotting the legal proceedings, the lawyers took out a procession from KBA office at city courts against the murder of Advocate Saqlain.

The protesting lawyers then staged a sit-in on M.A. Jinnah Road suspending the vehicular traffic for some time and later dispersed peacefully.

Besides holding a condolence reference, KBA president Naeem Qureshi said the association would chalk out a future course of action in a meeting on Wednesday.