KARACHI: Two men were shot dead and a woman was wounded in an armed attack on their online taxi in Nazimabad in what police described as a targeted attack in the wee hours of Saturday.

The police identified the dead as 50-year-old Tariq, a scrap dealer and online cab driver Kashif, 40. The victim woman was identified as Beenish, wife of Tariq.

Gulbahar SHO Shabbir Husain said that the incident took place near Inquiry Office in Nazimabad and Tariq was assailants’ target.

He said that the couple attended a wedding and was going home in Garden in an online taxi. When their cab reached near Inquiry Office four assailants riding on two motorcycles intercepted and sprayed their vehicle with bullets and rode away.

The SHO said Tariq suffered six bullet wounds while Kashif sustained three and died on the spot. He said Beenish suffered a single bullet wound in the hand and she, along with the bodies, was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where her condition was said to be out of danger.

He ruled out the possibility that Tariq was targeted on political grounds. He said he was a relative of a local leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Faisal Shaikh, who informed the police that Tariq had nothing to do with politics and he was a scrap dealer in the Garden area.

During an initial probe, investigators came to know that Tariq had a property dispute with someone and both parties had also filed cases in court against each other.

However, the area SHO added that the police were investigating the case to ascertain the possible motive and identity of the killers.

He said an FIR would be lodged after the burial of Tariq.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2023