KARACHI, March 19: An activist of the Islami Jamiat Talaba was gunned down and another was wounded in the Saifee Technical College, North Nazimabad, on Monday, police said.

They said that the incident occurred in the afternoon when four helmet-wearing armed men entered the college and opened fire on a group of students.

The firing left Hafiz Muhammad Arif and Atif Shakoor, said to be IJT members, wounded.

Hafiz Arif was rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where he died during treatment.

Atif Shakoor was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where his condition was stated to be stable.

A spokesman for the IJT said that Arif, a first-year student in the electrical department, was a resident of Orangi Town No 10.

Atif was also a first-year student of the electrical department.

Following the incident, students, mainly belonging to the IJT, staged a protest demonstration outside the college during whichthey also clashed with the police.

They blocked the main road in front of the college. The police, in a bid to restore vehicular traffic on the road, lobbed teargas shells to disperse the protesters.

Gulberg Division SP Tanveer Odho told Dawn that four attackers, who were wearing helmets, had carried out the gun attack in the college. “Their identities are still not known,” he added.

He said that a case would be registered against unidentified persons if the complainant did not nominate anyone in the FIR.

Meanwhile, the IJT alleged in a statement that its activist was killed by workers of the All Pakistan Muttahida StudentsOrganisation (APMSO).

The IJT spokesman described such incidents taking place at different institutes as a conspiracy to destroy peace on campuses and said that the IJT was going to announce its strategy soon to avert such untoward incidents.

An APMSO spokesman denied their involvement in the attack, saying that the APMSO always supported peace and harmony on campuses.

The APMSO in a statement condemned the killing of a student in the Saifee College and demanded that the president, the primeminister and the Sindh chief minister address the situation.

Later, the college administration suspended all educational activities on the campus for the next three days.