KARACHI: Investigators probing Wednesday’s killing of Advocate Akram Abro and his son Shahryar are trying to find out the exact motive behind the broad daylight targeted attack as earlier they believed that it was connected to a tribal feud in Jacobabad but now they suspected that the double murder may be linked with a land dispute in Karachi, it emerged on Thursday.

Akram Abro, a brother of MPA Aslam Abro, and his son, Shehryar, were shot dead and two other persons were wounded near Ayesha Masjid in DHA Phase-VII when armed assailants, some in a car and some on a motorbike, sprayed their SUV with bullets. Another two companions of the victims remained unhurt.

Talking to the media at his office on Thursday, Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon said that it was “too early” to reach a conclusion about the exact motive of the incident. However, it appeared that the actual target of the killers was Advocate Abro, he said.

Terming it an act of targeted killing, he said: “It’s not an ordinary crime as the killers fired around 50 bullets on the victims’ vehicle.”

A murder involving certain Abro clansmen points investigators to a land dispute in Karachi

A senior police officer, who is privy to the ongoing probe, said that the investigators were also looking into a land dispute in the city as a likely motive for the killing of MPA’s brother and his nephew.

He told Dawn that in the recent past a murder had taken place in Gulshan-i-Maymar over the same land dispute involving the Abro family.

The officer said that this was only one of the aspects of the investigation, which was still inconclusive.

Advocate Abro, son laid to rest

MPA Aslam Abro brought the bodies of his brother and nephew to Jacobabad for burial, our correspondent in Sukkur adds.

The funeral prayers were held in the Town Hall of Jacobabad amid moving scenes.

A large number of people, including MPAs Mir Mumtaz Hussain Jakhrani, Dr Sohrab Khan Sarki, Sardar Sheheryar Khan Shar, ex-MPA Mir Aurang­zeb Panhwar, people belonging to the Abro and other clans from Jacobabad, Balochistan and other areas attended the last rites of the slain Abros.

They were buried in a local graveyard in Mohammad Akram Abro village in the Abad area of Jacobabad district.

‘Banditry in Katcha area cancer for society’

During his interaction with the media on Thursday, the IGP also spoke about the police operation against dacoit gangs in the riverine area of upper Sindh.

He said banditry was a ‘cancer’ for society which needed to be eliminated.

He recalled that the phenomenon of ‘honey-trap’ emerged in 2012 when hundreds of people across the country were trapped by the bandits and brought to their hideouts. As this criminal activity was ‘risk-free’ for the gangs, it multiplied and this practice turned into an ‘industry’ to mint huge sums of money as ransom.

However, he said, after launching of the police operation, particularly in Kandhkot-Kashmore and Ghotki districts, the incidents of honey-trap had declined by 90 percent. He claimed that the police operation had resulted in a drastic reduction in kidnappings and other criminal activities in the area. The gangs had suffered badly and they had now realised that kidnapping was no more ‘risk-free’ for them, he added.

The IGP pointed out that there were only two persons held hostage by kidnappers Ghotki district, where most outlaws belonged to the gang led by Sultu or Rahib Shar. He said that 26 members of this gang had been killed during the police operation this year.

There were two kidnap victims held hostage in Sukkur, where mostly Yasin Teghani-led gang was active. Six members of this gang were killed and nine arrested during the last seven months, he said.

According to him, there are around 10 gangs of kidnappers who are active in Kandhkot-Kashmore district. As many as 18 gangsters had been killed and 69 others arrested. He said that during the last two-three days, seven kidnap victims had been recovered safely in Kashmore.

In Shikarpur district, 14 bandits were shot dead and 41 arrested.

Drones, better weapons sought

IG Memon said that in order to eliminate banditry from the riverine area, the police authorities had obtained a no-objection certificate (NOC) to procure ‘army grade weapons’ as well as drones for effective surveillance.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2023