KARACHI: A man in his 50s, said to be a drug addict, set four of his neighbour’s children on fire, killing two of them, and then took his own life with a knife, officials said on Wednesday.

They said that the man took the extreme step because the children used to “tease” him about his drug addiction.

South DIG Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that at around 2pm an incident of fire took place inside a house in Mowach Goth in which four children sustained burn wounds.

The officer said during the initial probe it emerged that a drug addict named Yunus used to live alone in Kachela Goth near Ghousia Masjid.

After a quarrel with the children, he sprinkled a blanket with oil, set it on fire, and threw it into his neighbour’s courtyard. He also threw a bottle of petrol, which accelerated the fire, causing burn injuries to the four children.

The kids were taken to Burns Centre of the Civil Hospital Karachi where two of them died at night during treatment.

The DIG told Dawn that the girl Fahmida Shaukat Ali, 13, and two-year-old Ayaz Qurban succumbed to their wounds while two of the children — Faraz Qurban, four and Soni Hasan, six — were still under treatment with severe wounds.

The police surgeon said that Ayaz had suffered 100pc burns.

The DIG said the suspect attempted to flee by scaling a wall of a near-by brick warehouse. Later, he slit his neck with a knife. He was taken to the CHK where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2025