KARACHI, April 5: A ‘police informer’ was gunned down near his Qasba Colony residence on Tuesday, officials said.

They said 37-year-old Fazal Karim was shot dead by two armed motorcyclists when he was talking over the cellphone in Qasba Colony No 2.

“He lived in the same area and was standing outside his home and talking to someone over the phone,” said Sub-Inspector Jehanzeb, the SHO of the Pirabad police station. “Two men on a motorbike emerged there and one of them fired at him. He was hit by two bullets and died on the spot.”

The body was moved to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for a post-mortem examination, he said, adding that the attackers ran away after the firing.

“The victim was associated with some business, but the motive behind his killing is not yet known,” added the area SHO.

However, some senior officials said that the victim was a police informer.

“Initial investigations and interaction with some senior officers led to the discovery of the fact that Fazal was part of the intelligence network of a specialised unit of the police,” said Orangi Town SP Khurram Waris.

“The reasons and people behind his murder are not clear but [his] association with the police one way or the other could not be ruled out.”

The police later registered a murder case (FIR No. 113/11) against unidentified persons under Sections 302 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.