KARACHI: A man was shot dead in the New Karachi area early on Saturday morning, police said.

They added that Tariq Hameed, 50, was riding a motorbike when unknown suspects opened indiscriminate fire on him near Baghdadi Masjid in Sector 11-D. He sustained six bullet wounds on different parts of his body and died on the spot, said New Karachi DSP Irshad Ali Bhutto.

The incident occurred at around 2.10am.

The investigators collected eight spent bullet casings fired from a 9mm pistol from the crime scene. Regarding a possible motive, the officer ruled out the possibility of a robbery attempt behind the murder. “We are focusing on three possible motives for the murder,” said the officer.

Quoting the victim’s son, Haris, the DSP said that the victim had remained associated with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London. The son claimed that now he was no longer associated with any political party. However, the police said they had got some evidence suggesting that he still had links with the MQM-L. The officer recalled that the victim was arrested by the Rangers recently. He had some property dispute with his relatives and a business dispute with someone.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2019