KARACHI: A young man was shot dead and another wounded by armed robbers in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, after which an angry mob lynched one of the criminals in the small hours of Friday morning, police and hospital officials said.

Sharea Faisal SHO Raja Tariq Mehmood said three robbers riding on a motorbike intercepted 38-year-old Syed Ali Rahbar near the Millennium Mall flyover at around 1am on Thursday night and snatched his cell phone.

He said when he put up resistance the muggers opened fire on him. As a result, he suffered critical bullet wounds and died on the spot. A passer-by, Irfan, 50, was also injured by their firing.

Seeing that, area people rushed to the scene and managed to overpower one of the robbers. They subjected him to severe beating, which resulted in his death.

The SHO said the snatched cell phone of the victim was recovered from the pocket of the lynched suspect.

Police Surgeon Summaiya Syed said robbery victim Rahbar sustained two bullet wounds in the chest and abdomen.

The body was taken away by the relatives without completion of medico-legal formalities.

The victim was father of two children and worked as an online delivery man.

‘Living in Pakistan has become a punishment’

Syed Akhter Ali Sarosh, father of deceased Rahbar, while talking to the media at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, said that dacoits were roaming freely in the city, but law enforcers were nowhere to be seen.

“We are the ones who created Pakistan,” he said, adding that his father, Syed Yawar Husain Kaif Banarasi, had taken active part in the Pakistan movement.

“Our forefathers gave sacrifices for Pakistan but we never said what Pakistan has given us in return,” he said. “Living in Pakistan has become a punishment,” said the grief-stricken father.

He also recited a poem which said: “In a city where people die for no reason, try to learn the art of living….”.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Zia Lanjar ordered suspension of the area SHO.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2024