HYDERABAD: The senior vice president of Sunni Tehreek (Sarwat faction), Khalid Qadri, was shot at and wounded in an alleged targeted attack outside the mosque, where he offered Friday prayer, in Latifabad Unit-8.

Three motorcyclists stopped him, asked his identity and shot at him. Khalid Qadri lives in Siddique Plaza at Latifabad Unit-8, but he offers prayers in the Jamia Mohammad, located in the locality where he previously lived.

The injured leader made a statement in hospital, recalling how he came under attack. “As I stepped out of the mosque along with my brother, I saw two men on a bike while one was at the corner of the mosque. I took it as a normal thing,” he said. He added that as soon as he left for home they asked him if he was Khalid, and he confirmed that he was. “One of them then fired shots and I fell. They moved a little distance and then fired again. I never saw them here before,” he said.

According to ST (central) leader Abid Qadri, after offering prayer in Latifabad Unit-8, Khalid was on his way home on his motorbike when some unidentified persons intercepted him. One of them confirmed his identity while another fired at him,” Abid said quoting Khalid’s son Shariq.

Qadri has also been associated with regular charity work as well.

Khalid was taken to Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) city branch where Medico Legal Officer (MLO) Dr Hameed Mughal examined him. Mughal told Dawn that apparently the ST leader received three bullets: one in the chest, second in the upper left arm region and third in the left thigh. “He also has some facial injuries. He is being shifted to a surgical intensive care unit (ICU) right now,” he said.

ICU incharge Dr Kashif Memon suggested investigations, including a CT scan, that were underway. “We have got him shifted to the ICU for observation for at least 24 hours. His blood pressure is normal right now. But he will remain here for some time,” he said.

Hyderabad SSP Shahzeb Chachar and Mayor Kashif Shoro and ST activists also arrived at the LUH.

SSP Chachar said police have started an investigation into the matter. “We will find out the motive behind the attack,” he said. No FIR was lodged till filing of the story.

Police claimed to have secured CCTV recordings from the vicinity of the incident. A footage showed three persons riding a motorbike: one wearing a cap, another bare-faced with his features clearly visible while the third one had his face covered with a cloth.

Police have learnt that possible suspects —if confirmed — were residents of Latifabad Unit-12. “Authorities are also examining a suspected rivalry between two factions of the ST,” said a police official.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2026