Prayer leader shot dead in ‘targeted attack’ in Karachi

Published May 24, 2019
The deceased was a prayer leader (khateeb) of the mosque belonging to the Ahle Hadees school of thought. — AFP/File
The deceased was a prayer leader (khateeb) of the mosque belonging to the Ahle Hadees school of thought. — AFP/File

A prayer leader was shot dead in a suspected targeted attack in Karachi's Sachal area on Friday morning, officials said.

Mohammed Arbab, 55, was coming out of the Minarul Huda Masjid in Sachal Goth near Murtaza Chowk after offering Fajr prayers when armed pillion riders opened indiscriminate fire on him and fled, said Malir SSP Irfan Bahadur.

He sustained 11 bullet wounds and was transported to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi. He was shifted to the operation theatre and died within half an hour, according to police surgeon Dr Qarar Ahmed Abbasi.

“It appeared to be a targeted killing incident,” the Malir SSP told Dawn. However, the senior officer ruled out the possibility of a sectarian motive being behind the murder.

He pointed out that the deceased was a prayer leader (khateeb) of the mosque belonging to the Ahle Hadees school of thought. SSP Bahadur believed that there was no history of targeting Ahle Hadees followers on sectarian grounds.

The victim’s father is also a khateeb of the same mosque.

Police investigators collected 11 spent bullet casings from the crime scene and sent to the police’s forensic science lab to ascertain as to whether the same weapon was used in previous murder cases.

The Malir SSP said that the investigators have ‘some clues’ about the possible motive of the murder and are working on it. He did not elaborate.

DIG East Amir Farooqi revealed that the victim’s elder brother, Arbab Anas, is an official (HR manager) of the Karachi Port Trust who is also a "witness of NAB (National Accountability Bureau)" in a reference against former federal minister for ports and shipping Babar Ghauri, ex-KPT chairman Javed Hanif and others.

The case pertained to alleged illegal recruitment of 940 people, many of whom had alleged serious criminal records, according to NAB sources.

Opinion

Editorial

Reserved seats
Updated 15 May, 2024

Reserved seats

The ECP's decisions and actions clearly need to be reviewed in light of the country’s laws.
Secretive state
15 May, 2024

Secretive state

THERE is a fresh push by the state to stamp out all criticism by using the alibi of protecting national interests....
Plague of rape
15 May, 2024

Plague of rape

FLAWED narratives about women — from being weak and vulnerable to provocative and culpable — have led to...
Privatisation divide
Updated 14 May, 2024

Privatisation divide

How this disagreement within the government will sit with the IMF is anybody’s guess.
AJK protests
14 May, 2024

AJK protests

SINCE last week, Azad Jammu & Kashmir has been roiled by protests, fuelled principally by a disconnect between...
Guns and guards
14 May, 2024

Guns and guards

THERE are some flawed aspects to our society that we must start to fix at the grassroots level. One of these is the...