Sindh MPA Muhammad Aslam Abro’s brother Akram Abro and nephew were shot dead on Wednesday after unidentified assailants opened fire on their vehicle in Phase 7 of Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA).

South Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Asad Raza told Dawn.com that the vehicle that came under attack belonged to Aslam but he was not travelling with his brother and nephew.

He said that the victims had left their residence located near Khayaban-e-Shamsheer for Jacobabad at around 11:15am. The SSP added that their vehicle, a silver Toyota Vigo, came under attack at around 11:35am in Phase 7.

SSP Raza said that four passengers were critically injured in the attack and were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where 68-year-old Akram Abro and 40-year-old Shahryar Akram succumbed to their injuries.

Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said they suffered multiple injuries on their head and torso with 30 bullet wounds on different parts of their bodies.

An official statement from the Defence police station confirmed the same, identifying the injured as Abdullah Abro, 40, and Irshad Ali Panhwar, 42.

SSP Raza earlier said that Panhwar also died from his injuries.

However, later in a clarification, the police said the news of the third death was fake.

South Deputy Inspector General of Police Irfan Ali Baloch took notice of the matter and said there would be an inquiry against the person who provided the wrong information to SSP Raza and a show-cause notice would be issued as well.

He said the inquiry would be completed by tomorrow.

The SSP said the critically injured Panhwar was a nephew of a known tribal chief in Jacobabad, Manzoor Panhwar, and the son of former Jacobabad district Naib Nazim, Asghar Panhwar.

SSP Raza said that the police had cordoned off the area and were checking the CCTV footage. He added that a team from the Crime Scene Investigation Unit had also been dispatched to the scene of the crime and evidence was being collected.

Aslam was elected to Sindh Assembly in 2018 on a PTI ticket but was expelled in 2021 for “violating the party’s instructions” during the Senate elections.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who is also the chairman of the PPP, strongly condemned the killing. In a statement, he termed the killing “sheer terrorism”.

“I hope that the accused involved in this act of terrorism will be brought to justice soon,” Bilawal said. He also offered his condolences to the bereaved family and prayed for the recovery of those injured in the attack.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah strongly condemned the incident as well and expressed regret over the deaths.

“Such incidents cannot be tolerated at any cost,” he said and ordered the inspector general of police to submit a detailed report. Shah further said the culprits should be arrested immediately.

In a statement, the Sindh Bar Council (SBC) also strongly condemned the “brutal murder” of Akram, who it said was an advocate and hailed from the Jacobabad district.

In it, the SBC said the incident was a “complete failure of law enforcement agencies” and said it had “put a big question mark over their performance”.

It demanded that Sindh Inspector General Ghulam Nabi Memon and other authorities concerned to take immediate notice of the incident, arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice forthwith.

Initial probe findings

SSP Raza said the initial probe revealed that the suspects chased the victims when they left their residence. He said with the help of CCTV footage, one luxury car (Premio) was traced in which four suspects were travelling while two other suspects were riding on a motorbike.

He said they resorted to “indiscriminate firing” on the victims’ Vigo from three different directions with Kalashnikov and 9mm pistols, adding that investigators collected 45 spent bullet casings from the crime scene.

‘Tribal vendetta’

The SSP said MPA Aslam told the police that the family would lodge a first information report after the burial of his brother and nephew in Jacobabad.

Raza said the preliminary probe suggested that the incident was an outcome of a “tribal vendetta”.

He said investigators obtained some clues that Akram was the “actual target” of the killers, adding that the deceased had a “certain feud with two tribes in Jacobabad over some issues”.