KARACHI, Oct 19: At least eight people, including three workers of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) and two activists of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (Haqiqi), were gunned down in different parts of the city on Friday, police said.
Three seminary students said to be workers of the banned ASWJ were gunned down in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, police said. After attending a protest sit-in at Jhangvi Chowk organised by ASWJ, the three youngsters were returning to Darul Khair Madressah, situated in Block 15 of Gulistan-i-Jauhar, when they were ambushed, the officials added.
The shooting was followed by a violent protest on University Road, where tyres were set on fire and closure of markets in Gulistan-i-Jauhar and Gulshan-i-Iqbal areas.
“The three students riding a bike were targeted at the junction of the Abul Hasan Ispahani Road and University Road in front of the SSGC office,” said DIG (east) Shahid Hayat, adding that the killings appeared to have been carried out on sectarian grounds.
The organisation had announced that Friday would be observed as a day of protest against the killing of its five workers on Oct 15 in two separate attacks in the city.
The three youngsters, who sustained gunshot wounds in the attack, were rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) where they were pronounced dead on arrival, the police said.
The officials were not sure about the number of attackers. Mobina Town Station House Officer Salimullah Qureshi said that Aziz-ur-Rahman and Qari Mauvia Mujahid were identified, while the name of the third victim was not clear.
Slain Aziz-ur-Rahman hailed from Alipur, Muzaffargarh district, the police added.
Following the attack, enraged protesters took to the main University Road and set fire to tyres.
ASWJ spokesman Maulana Saeed Akbar said the three men were going to their seminary after attending a protest near Scout Colony when they were targeted.
“At the time of the killing, due to the our protest, heavy contingents of police and Rangers were present on Abul Hasan Isphani Road,” he said, adding that the attackers fled in front of the Rangers personnel but the latter did not act.
Following the killings, tension gripped areas of Gulistan-i-Jauhar and Abul Hasan Ispahani Road where shops and markets were closed down. There were also reports of firing in the areas, the police said.
After learning about the shooting, a large number of ASWJ workers reached the JPMC, where they raised slogans against the government.
Two MQM-H men shot dead
Two activists of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (Haqiqi) were gunned down in Korangi-6, police and party sources said.
They added that the two men were passing through the area on a motorbike when they were targeted within the remit of the Awami Colony.
The victims sustained multiple gunshot wounds and died on the spot, the police said. The bodies were later shifted to the JPMC for medico-legal formalities.
The victims were identified as Mohammad Furqan, 27, joint sector in charge of the MQM’s Landhi organisational structure, Ahmad Ali, 26, was an area worker of the party, MQM sources said.
The police said that documents found from the bike indicated that the two-wheeler was owned by Akram.
Three killed in Baldia
A young man belonging to the Ahmadi community was killed while his father and brother were wounded in a gun attack on their car in Baldia Town, police said.
The police added that the family was returning home from their place of worship when armed men riding a motorbike opened fire on the car in Baldia Town No 5 and fled.
Hammad Farooq, 25, who was driving the car, his father Farooq Ahmed, 48, brother Saad Farooq, 28, and Nusrat, 40, sustained gunshot wounds, but Hammad managed to drive the car to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where his brother died during treatment, said Baldia SHO Sub-Inspector Mohammad Asghar.
The victims were residents of Sector 5-J, Saeedabad, the police said. They quoted the victims as saying that Mr Farooq was a caretaker of the place of worship belonging to the Ahmadis.
The family hailed from Punjab, the police said.
In a late night attack in the same vicinity, two men riding a motorbike were gunned down, said SSP Amir Farooqui.
Both men died on the spot. Their identities had not been ascertained yet, the officer said.
The police quoted some witnesses as saying that they didn’t hear gunshots indicating that the attackers used a silencer-fitted pistol, the officer added.