HYDERABAD, June 12 A central committee member and an activist of Mohajir Qaumi Movement (Amir) were gunned down near old Bakra Mandi in the Phulelli area late on Friday night. Saeed Ansari, central committee member, and Khalil Rajput, activist, were fired at from point blank range by two unidentified motorcyclists at around 12.45am when they were going on a motorcycle.

Police moved the bodies to civil hospital's mortuary.

Ansari, a resident of Ansari Mohallah was buried in Bhatti Goth graveyard and Rajput was buried in Tando Yusuf.

No central leader of MQM-A attended the funerals because, according to local MQM leader Nadeem Omer, both Karachi and Hyderabad police as well as Rangers refused to provide them security cover.

The targeted killing spread panic in the area. “Ansari used to carry a weapon after the break-up of MQM-Haqiqi,” said SPO of Phulelli Shafqat Chandio.

Ansari, a school teacher, was an activist of Altaf Hussein's Mohajir Qaumi Movement and switched over to MQM-Haqiqi in the wake of 1992 military operation against the party. After recent break-up of MQM-H he joined its faction led by Amir Khan.

According to Ansari's brother Asif Ansari, no FIR has been lodged so far.

The latest incident of targeted killing follows double murder of MQM (Afaq) finance secretary Riaz Qureshi and Mohammad Khalid in Hirabad on April 13. Some Muttahida activists were nominated as accused in the FIR.

Ansari was an absconder in a double murder case of MQM (Afaq) activists Sadaqat Hussain alias Taishu and Ashfaq Ahmed alias Pappi of Korangi-4, Karachi, who were gunned down near Pakistan Oil Mills in Sakhi Pir area.

Two co-accused of this case Nadeem Omer and Arif have been acquitted of charges.

Ansari was also wanted in an attempted murder case of Muttahida activists Asghar Jalali and Mohammad Ali in Phulelli area.