KARACHI, April 19: Six people, including a young activist of the Afaq Ahmed-led faction of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H), were shot dead in different parts of the city on Tuesday, police and party sources said.

The MQM-H worker, Amir Ali, in his mid-20s, was targeted near Lunda Bazaar in Korangi No 6, where he used to work as a plumber, the police said.

“Two men riding a motorbike stopped close to him while he was busy chatting with friends,” said an official at the Awami Colony police station. “One of the riders pulled out a pistol after getting off the two-wheeler and fired a few shots. Amir was hit in the neck and the abdomen. The riders sped away, leaving him in a pool of blood.”

The victim was rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where he was pronounced dead, he said. After medico-legal formalities, the body was handed over to the family.

“The victim was a resident of Landhi No 6. He was an industrial worker but also worked as a plumber in the weekly market every Tuesday,” the official added, showing unawareness about the motive and people behind the killing.

However, a spokesman for the Afaq Ahmed-led faction of the MQM-H said the victim was their party activist and was targeted for his political association. “In April alone, nearly a dozen workers of the party have been killed in different parts of the city but it has not yet inspired the authorities to take action.”

In the same area, a youngster was found shot dead near Government Landhi Degree College earlier in the day, the police said.

“The victim, apparently in his mid 20s, was wearing trousers and shirt,” said an official at the Awami Colony police station. He added that the body was spotted in an open plot neighbouring the college, situated in Korangi No 6.

The official said that the identity of the victim could not be established and the body bearing torture marks besides gunshot wounds was shifted to the Edhi morgue after medico-legal formalities.

Man killed, two friends wounded

A young man was shot dead and his two friends were wounded in a gun attack in a street near Banaras Chowk, police said. The police suspected personal enmity as a possible motive behind the attack.

They said the victim man was booked in a murder case and all the three victims were associated with a real estate business in Ittehad Town.

Thirty-two-year-old Iqbal Shamzad was having a chat with his friends, Faqeer Mohammad and Mohammad Sardar, both in their late 30s, in the street as a matter of routine when some armed men sprayed them with a volley of bullets.

“The attackers were on foot and slipped away soon after the attack,” said an official at the Pirabad police station.

He said that Iqbal was booked for the murder of his elder brother’s suspected killer a few months back.

The police said that the victims were associated with a real estate business, mainly in Ittehad Town, that caused several armed clashes in recent months.

Boy found shot dead in college A teenage boy was found shot dead inside Siraj-ud-Daula College in Sharifabad on Tuesday.

Police also found a belt carrying pistol and bullets lying along the body. “The crime-scene suggests that there was a gunfight between groups or individuals that claimed his life,” said Sharifabad SHO Inspector Iqbal Sheikh.

“Seventeen-year-old Najam-ul-Haq was hit by two bullets,” he said, adding that his body was handed over to the family after medico-legal formalities at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

The inspector said, “The victim was a resident of an apartment in Liaquatabad No 10.”

He said though none of Najam’s relatives was cooperating with the police in the probe, investigators had gathered some facts which indicated that he was known in the area “for his links with individuals involved in robberies and street crime”.

Attack on van leaves one dead A young man was killed in a gun attack on a van carrying industrial workers to their homes early Tuesday morning on the National Highway, officials said.

They added that the van left the industrial unit to drop workers at their homes in different areas when two armed men riding a motorbike signalled the driver to stop near Jogi Morr on the highway.

“Sensing danger, the driver attempted to speed up the van but the riders chased it and opened fire on the moving vehicle before fleeing,” said Shah Latif Town SHO Inspector Mulazim Hussain.

He said the firing resulted in the death of 22-year-old Ziaullah on the spot.

The body was handed over to the family after medico-legal formalities, he said.

“The victim was a technician and resident of Orangi Town,” Inspector Hussain said, adding that the police registered an FIR (295/2011) under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code against unidentified suspects on a complaint of the victim’s colleague.

Body found The body of a middle-aged man was found under the Lasbela bridge in the Gulbahar area, police said.

“The unidentified victim, in his early 50s, was severely tortured and hit by a couple of bullets before his body was dumped here,” said Gulbahar SHO Sub-Inspector Sabir Khaskheli. He added that it seemed that the victim was kidnapped and tortured before being murdered.

“The victim was wearing a white shalwar kameez.”

After medico-legal formalities, the body was shifted to the Edhi morgue for want of identification.