KARACHI: As the Mutta­hida Qaumi Movement called for a day of mourning and ‘peaceful shutter-down strike’ in Sindh on Thursday in protest against the murder of one of its workers, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ordered an immediate investigation into the killing.

Interior Minister Chau­dhry Nisar Ali Khan also took up the matter and sought a report from the director general of Rangers (Sindh) and police chief.

The MQM said the worker was the 36th victim of ‘extrajudicial killing’ since September 2013 when a ‘targeted operation’ was launched in Karachi. Sohail Ahmed, 46, in charge of a unit of the MQM’s ‘society sector’, was found killed in Mochko area.

Also read: Karachi braces for shutdown after Muttahida worker’s ‘extrajudicial killing’

Already in confrontation with the PPP, the MQM blamed the party ruling the province and law-enforcement agencies for ‘disappearance’ and killings of its men.

MQM calls for mourning and strike in Sindh

The party’s chief Altaf Hussain alleged in a statement from London that police, Rangers, other law-enforcement agencies and the Sindh government were targeting MQM workers in a conspiracy under the shelter of the Karachi operation.

“Dozens of MQM workers are still missing after their illegal arrests,” he said.

Also read : Missing MQM worker found dead, parts of Karachi shut down

The appeal for a strike attracted immediate response from key business and transport associations which announced that they would keep their businesses closed. Educational institutions also postponed their scheduled activities.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2015

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