MQM Pakistan leader Khawaja Izharul Hassan was the target of an assassination attempt early Saturday morning in Karachi's Buffer Zone area.

Hassan, who is the leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly, escaped unhurt, but at least four others are reported to have been injured in the attack.

MQM Pakistan leader Faisal Sabzwari tweeted that the attackers wore police uniforms. He said three of Hassan's police guards took bullet injuries of whom one, a police constable, was killed in the attack. A teenager was also killed in the cross-fire.

One of the assailants was shot dead in retaliatory firing, police said, while another was injured but managed to flee. Police also said they had recovered a 9mm pistol and a motorcycle used by the killed attacker from at the scene of the incident.

DawnNews quoted police officials as saying that assailants on three motorcycles had attacked the politician after he left a mosque in Buffer Zone for home after Eidul Azha prayers.

Condemnations poured in from provincial lawmakers soon after the attack. The city's police chief was also directed to submit a report on the matter.

MQM Pakistan supremo Farooq Sattar later said in a press conference that the provincial government cannot be absolved of responsibility in the incident.

"What if the leader of the opposition had been killed? What would have the city's situation have been like?" he said. "Already, people are frustrated with the way Karachi was completely neglected in the aftermath of the [recent] rains."

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah also condemned the attack and demanded a detailed report from Sindh Inspector General of Police A.D Khowaja.

Opinion

Editorial

Depopulating Gaza
Updated 07 Feb, 2025

Depopulating Gaza

The least feasible "solution" is the Trumpian plan for Gaza’s ethnic cleansing and occupation, which is a non-starter.
‘Pause’ in US aid
07 Feb, 2025

‘Pause’ in US aid

THE impact of the Trump administration’s decision to ‘pause’ all US foreign aid programmes, especially those...
Mobilising opposition
07 Feb, 2025

Mobilising opposition

POLITICS makes strange bedfellows. There has not, for quite some time, been a guest list as intriguing as the one...
No time left
Updated 06 Feb, 2025

No time left

Climate change concerns continue to remain a footnote as politics dominates national discourse, surfacing only when disaster strikes.
Karim Aga Khan
06 Feb, 2025

Karim Aga Khan

PRINCE Karim Aga Khan was a man who straddled various worlds and cultures. Beyond his role as spiritual leader of ...
Cotton production
06 Feb, 2025

Cotton production

PAKISTAN’S cotton crop is on the ropes. The crop output has been falling since FY15, when the country harvested a...