KARACHI: A religious scholar was shot at and wounded in a Malir locality on Monday evening, police said.

They claimed that Allama Syed Jawad Haider Zaidi, 55, was wounded by robbers in Malir’s Jaffer-i-Tayyar Society.

Malir City SHO Ihsan Channa said that Allama Jawad Haider drew Rs 90,000 from a private bank branch at Civic Centre and took a bus to his area and then a lift to home. As he reached in front of his home near Imamia Masjid, some armed men riding on a motorbike intercepted him and snatched the cash at gunpoint.

The police said that the robbers shot him when the cleric offered resistance and rode away with the booty. He suffered a bullet wound in the leg and was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for treatment.

Inspector General of Police Riffat Mukhtar Raja took notice of the incident and ordered DIG-East Azfar Mahesar to arrest the culprits forthwith.

Meanwhile, the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen condemned the incident and said in a statement that protection of people’s life and property was the first priority of the state.

It said that increasing incidents of street crime triggered a sense of fear and insecurity among residents. These incidents have crossed all past records as police, Rangers and other law enforcers appeared to be ‘helpless’ in curbing the menace,” it added.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2023