KARACHI, Jan 8: Most parts of Lyari remained tense on Saturday, in the aftermath of the killing of renowned Baloch leader Anwar Bhaijan late Friday night.

Police said that Anwar Bhaijan, Chief of the Baloch Ittehad Tehrik, was returning home at around 1.15am along with his friends when three armed men on a motorcycle intercepted him near Gharib Shah Mazaar in Kalakot, pumped three bullets to his body, and fled.

The Baloch leader died on the spot and the body was sent to hospital for autopsy. The news about the killing spread like wildfire in the area and people thronged to his residence.

Shops, markets, and bazaars remained closed in most parts of Lyari since morning to mourn the death of their leader.

Public transport was already off the roads due to their effective strike in the city, while residents of the locality in Lyari stayed insides their homes due to intense firing in the area.

Heavy contingent of police and Rangers were dispatched to the troubled areas to maintain law and order and keep an eye on unscrupulous elements. The police continued to patrol the area throughout the day.

BURIAL: Thousands of people on Saturday afternoon attended the burial ceremony of the leader of the Baloch Ittehad Tehrik, Anwar Bhaijan, who was killed by armed men on late Friday night. He was buried in Mewashah Graveyard.

His funeral procession started at 2.15pm from his residence at Singo Lane area of Lyari Town, and was joined by people from different parts of the city. These people met at a community ground to pay respect to the political-cum-social leader.

Touching scenes were witnessed when the body of the slain leader was brought for the people to get last glimpses of him. Mr Baloch became the first political victim of a terrorist attack as a sequel of the ongoing gang war.

People representing Baloch communities in different parts of Karachi including Lyari, Malir, SITE and Keamari towns, besides a large number of his admirers attended the burial ceremony.

The area MNA, Nabil Gabol, MPA Rafiq Engineer, PPP leader Rashid Rabbani, leader of National Workers Party Yusuf Musti Khan, Nazim Lyari Town Abdul Khaliq Juma, Nazim Keamari Town Zulfikar Ali Yunis, and a large number of political activists, NGO representatives, trade union leaders and Baloch intellectuals were also present.

BIT chairman Hanif Baloch announced a three-day mourning and urged the government to arrest the culprits within three days otherwise the organization would launch an effective movement in the locality.

He condemned the murderous attack and termed it a conspiracy, pledging to continue the mission of the slain leader.

Anwar Bhaijan emerged in the political scene of Lyari Town in the late '80s when he launched his Baloch Ittehad Tehrik in Karachi, which was then in the grip of ethnic strife.

The killing of a Baloch family in Old Golimar at the hands of a hammer group, which was then popularly known as the 'Hathora Group' and later the murder of a Baloch social worker, Abdul Wahid Baloch, were among the few factors which forced Baloch activists of different parties to form a separate Baloch party to protect their rights.

Bhaijan's social-cum-political organization made headlines when it asserted its political worth by launching effective political protests against unemployment among Lyari youths and narcotics peddlers. He was also put behind bars for sometime during the '90s.

Mr Block enjoyed close personal relations with other Baloch leaders such as late Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, Sardar Ataullah Khan Mengal, Sardar Sher Baz Khan Mazari, and late Akbar Mustikhan.

He had actively participated in the campaign of Sardar Mazari-led National Democratic Party for the release of the imprisoned Baloch leaders during the imprisonment of Baloch leaders in the Hyderabad conspiracy case and the ban on the National Awami Party in '70.

Of late, his organization had been in the forefront in the campaign against the ongoing gang war in Lyari area.

In his latest interview to a private TV channel, the BIT leader condemned both gangs for killing Baloch youths.