KARACHI, Jan 30: A day after the killing of Dr Jaffar Mohsin, a young man was shot dead by assailants near his home in Ancholi, F. B Area Block 20, by gunmen on Monday morning.

Violence erupted in the locality after the shooting death, police said.

They said Taseer Abbas, 25, a manager at a fast food outlet, was heading to a bus stop to catch a company bus when two men on a motorcycle opened fire on him as they rode by.

Police said Mr Abbas suffered three bullet wounds in the face, chest and abdomen, causing his instant death.

They added that the victim was the younger brother of Raza Abbas, a prominent Nauhakhwan, and nephew of Nisar Abbas Zaidi, who heads the Anjuman Tanzeem-i-Husaini. Mr Abbas was also a member of the Anjuman.

The victim was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities. Later the police handed over the body to the family.

The body was taken to Masjid-o-Imambargah Khairul Amal in Ancholi. The body of Dr Jaffar Mohsin was also shifted to the same Imambargah.

Dr Mohsin was killed in front of his residence in Block 12, F. B Area, on Jan 28.As a matter of routine, he was reading a newspaper sitting on a bench outside his residence when two suspects on a motorcycle pulled up there, shot at him and fled. The incident took place within the remit of the Gulberg police station.

His funeral prayers were planned for Monday because his son was on a pilgrimage to Karbala and he was scheduled to return on Sunday.

Following the killing of Mr Abbas on Monday, tension gripped the entire Block 20 (Ancholi) and shops and other commercial activities were closed.

DIG-West Imran Yaqoob Minhas told Dawn that it could be a sectarian killing or there could be another motive behind it. He said the killing took place in a Shia-dominated locality, though ‘any outside sectarian element barging into the locality was unlikely’.

“But nothing can be said for sure at this stage,” he said.

Things would become clear when complainants recorded their statements and lodge FIRs, the DIG added.

Funeral prayers

After Zohrain prayers, the coffins of Taseer Abbas and Dr Mohsin were taken to Shahrah-i-Pakistan, which had already been blocked to traffic by the police.

A group of women also took part in the protest inside Ancholi Society. They chanted slogans against the government for failing to stop targeted killings.

A large number of people participated in the prayers. The coffins were taken to the Wadi-i-Husain graveyard for burial. However, when the funeral procession passed Sohrab Goth, some people torched the pushcarts parked under the Sohrab Goth flyover. A passenger bus was also set on fire near the Edhi morgue.

Meanwhile, protesters manhandled some media persons and damaged their equipment. A camera and a tripod of a private television channel were also smashed by protesters.

Following the violence, police resorted to heavy teargas shelling and firing into the air.

The onslaught of the police forced the protesters to run inside Ancholi Society. In the dash many protesters on motorcycles fell on the road and they ran away leaving their two-wheelers behind. Firing tear-gas shells, police chased them into Ancholi Society.

The police rounded up around 20 people and took them away.

An uneasy peace prevailed in and surrounding areas of Ancholi Society by Monday night, but tension prevailed in the area as most people stayed indoors.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen and the Jafaria Alliance condemned the targeted killings and said that since the first Muharram Shia community members had been targeted consistently. He said the government had miserably failed to curb the on-going killings.

“If the current trend of killings does not stop, the Millat-i-Jafaria will announce a future line of action and will shut all doors of dialogue on the government,” the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, General Secretary of the Karachi Union Journalists Hasan Abbas condemned the manhandling of journalists on Monday.He said according to the information he had received, eight cameras had been damaged by protesters and several cameramen had been beaten up.

Late Monday night, enraged people once again took to Shahrah-i-Pakistan and protested against the killings and the police action.

They chanted slogans against the government for what they called its failure to protect members of the Shia community.

Meanwhile, a bus was set on fire near Yousuf Plaza, a duty officer at the Gulberg police station said.