KARACHI: Three workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement were shot dead in two separate attacks in the city on Tuesday, police and party officials said.

Two workers of the MQM were shot dead in Rizvia Society.

Police said the victims were sitting along the road outside their homes near Taqva mosque when gunmen on a motorcycle attacked them and fled. As a result, Mohammed Ashraf and Mohammed Abdul Rehman were critically wounded and taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors declared them dead.

Both victims were members of the MQM and the incident appeared to be that of targeted killing, said Liaquatabad SP Mohammed Ehsan Malik. He added that there was a power breakdown in the area at time of the shooting. Investigators found four empty casings of bullets fired from a 0.9mm pistol at the crime scene. The victims used to sit there as per their daily routine, said the SP.

A third activist of the MQM was shot dead in Orangi Town on Tuesday, Mominabad police and party officials said.

They added that Ashraf Khan, 35, was travelling in a car when gunmen on a motorcycle targeted him in Farid Colony. He sustained three bullet wounds and was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

The victim was the MQM Balochistan Committee’s joint-in-charge, a party spokesman said. Police also found a service card in his pocket, in which he was shown as an employee of the Sindh excise department, said Orangi Town SP Syed Ali Asif.Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2015

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