KARACHI, Dec 31: Unidentified men opened indiscriminate fire at the house of the general secretary of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement in Liaquatabad in the early hours of Tuesday, police and party sources said.

A spokesman for the MQM-H said some 15-20 armed men opened indiscriminate fire in front of the house of Amir Khan, general secretary of MQM-H, in Liaquatabad No 4. When the firing took place the families of Amir Khan and his elder brother Azam Khan were present in the house. They lay down on the floor to save their lives. He said a police mobile van was present at a corner of the street but policemen did not make any effort to arrest those who fired at the house.

He said the family approached police to lodge an FIR, but police were reluctant to register the case.

Police, however, said unknown armed men opened fire at Amir Khan’s house. Police found 19 empties of Kalashnikov rifles from the spot. They said government officials visited Amir Khan’s house and asked the family to get a case registered, but no one was ready to register the FIR.

Police said they waited for the family till evening. Finally police registered a case in which the state was the complainant.

The MQM-H spokesman said raids were continuing to arrest workers and members of the party. He said the Rangers raided the house of Anees Ahmed, a member of the organizing committee, in Landhi No 2. After failing to find him there, the rangers picked up his father, Samiullah, and brother Anees Ahmed.

The Rangers also raided the houses of sector in charge of New Karachi, Mohammed Raza, and a member of the central executive committee, Akhtar Husain, in Shah Faisal Colony and harassed their families in their absence, he claimed.