KARACHI: Less than four days after the targeted killing of a local office-bearer of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Orangi Town, another activist of the party was shot dead in Ittehad Town in the small hours of Sunday morning, police and party officials said.

They added that Shaukat Hammad, 35, was sitting outside his home in Abidabad when assailants on a motorbike killed him.

South-DIG Irfan Ali Baloch told Dawn that the police were investigating the case from two possible angles – a snatching attempt and targeted killing.

He said the victim had put up resistance when the assailants opened indiscriminate firing on him; however, they did not take away anything.

PPP Sindh general secretary Senator Waqar Mehdi said that it was a targeted killing. He suffered critical bullet injuries and was taken to the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi where doctors pronounced him dead.

Senator Mehdi said the deceased was the party’s senior vice president of UC-31. He was also an artist who used to sing the party’s songs in the rallies.

Talking to the media at the funeral of the slain worker, PPP leader and former minister Saeed Ghani said during the last two days, two party workers had been killed in Karachi.

“Such deadly attacks on peaceful workers raise several questions,” he said, adding that with the assumption of the provincial government by caretaker set-up and with the general elections approaching, such killings of the workers tended to create fear and chaos.

He urged the government to arrest the killers and expose the elements behind it as well.

‘Suspect involved in Orangi killing held’

Police on Sunday claimed to have arrested a suspected killer of PPP worker Amjad Hussain.

A police spokesperson said Husain was shot dead in Iqbal Market on Aug 17. He had suffered 10 bullet wounds. This was a targeted killing incident after a long time in the city, said the spokesperson.

The police identified the suspect as Anwar Saeed alias Munna.

To a question, West-SSP Faisal Bashir Memon told Dawn that Amjad’s murder ‘seemed to be motivated by political reasons’.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2023