Sanam Marvi's husband was shot dead at a desolate place in Gulistan-e-johar, police said. — File Photo by APP

KARACHI A 45-year-old man was shot dead on Monday at a desolate place in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, witnesses and police said.

They said that the victim, Aftab Ahmed Pharero, hailing from Naushehro Feroze, was the husband of a Sindhi folk singer, Sanam Marvi. They were living separately after estrangement.

The Sharea Faisal police said that the bullet-riddled body of the victim, who had landholding at his hometown, was found at around 4.45pm at an isolated place behind the Overseas Bungalows in Block 16-A.

Sources at the medico-legal section of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where the body was shifted for a post-mortem examination, told Dawn that the victim was hit by six bullets in his upper torso and head.

They said that the victim's wounds suggested that he was shot from a very close range as all the six bullets went through his body.

The police said that they secured six spent bullet casings of a pistol from the crime-scene.

They said that a case (FIR 556/2009) was registered against unidentified culprits under Sections 302 (pre-meditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim's maternal cousin, Javed Khadim.

The complainant told Dawn that Marvi was the second wife of the victim, who had his first wife and six children at his village, Ali Mohammed Pharero. He said that Mr Pharero had married Marvi some three years ago, but the couple were living separately after estrangement for the past two years. 'There was a dispute between the couple, but I don't know the reason that caused the estrangement between them,' he added.

He said that the victim was a close friend of former Sindh chief minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim.

He said that Mr Pharero had left his village for Hyderabad two days ago and he arrived in Karachi on Monday morning.

An area supervisory police officer (SPO), DSP Shafi Rind, told Dawn that the victim was believed to have been brought in a car by the culprits, who got him down at the spot and pumped bullets into his head and upper torso.

'The incident seems to be motivated by a personal enmity,' he added.

Opinion

Editorial

Limiting the damage
Updated 07 Mar, 2026

Limiting the damage

Govt plan to revive a range of Covid-era steps reflect a recognition that early restraint can limit disruptive interventions.
Diplomatic option
07 Mar, 2026

Diplomatic option

WITH Operation Ghazab lil Haq underway for over a week now, Pakistan has demonstrated that it can take firm action...
Polio, again
07 Mar, 2026

Polio, again

ANOTHER child has fallen victim to polio, this time in Sindh. The National Institute of Health this week confirmed...
On unstable ground
Updated 06 Mar, 2026

On unstable ground

PAKISTAN’S economic managers repeatedly tout improvements in macroeconomic indicators, including rising foreign...
Divide et impera
06 Mar, 2026

Divide et impera

AS if the high loss of life in Iran, regional escalation and economic turbulence caused by the US-Israeli aggression...
New approach needed
06 Mar, 2026

New approach needed

WITH one World Cup campaign ending in despair, Pakistan began to plan for the start of the cycle of another by...