Dozen more lives snuffed out in overnight Karachi violence

KARACHI: At least 12 people were gunned down in the city on Monday, two of them apparently killed in sectarian attacks and one of the other victims a Muttahida Qaumi Movement activist.

Aftab Jaffar, a 60-year-old member of the Bohra community, was shot dead outside Burhani Hospital at the Paper Market in Arambagh at night.

SHO Qamar Jawed Kiyani said Jaffar, a resident of Arambagh who worked the Johnson & Johnson Company in Korangi Industrial Area, was ill for the past two days and was visiting the hospital for a check-up. He was returning home when two men riding a motorcycle fired a gunshot at him.

He suffered a bullet wound to the head and taken to the Civil Hospital where he expired.The SHO said the attackers had used a 9mm pistol.The police believe that Jaffar’s murder appeared to be sectarian in nature.

Separately, Syed Qamar Husnain, a member of the Shia community, was gunned down in Godhran Society in New Karachi at night.

SSP Central Amir Farooqi said Husnain, who lived in North Nazimabad and ran a catering business in Gulshan-e-Maymar, was returning from a Bohra community hall in Godhran after catering food at a function there when two men riding a motorcycle opened fire on his vehicle.

He suffered bullet wounds to the head and chest and succumbed to his injuries at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.The SHO said the attackers had used a 9mm pistol. He added that the murder appeared to be motivated by sectarianism.

An MQM activist was murdered in Gulshan-e-Zia, Orangi Town in a late night attack.Pakistan Bazaar SHO Pervaiz Akhtar said 45-year-old Mehmood Ahmed, who worked as an electrician, was present outside his house when two men riding on a motorcycle arrived there and opened fire on him. Ahmed suffered multiple bullet wounds to the head and chest and later died at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

The SHO said the assailants had used a 30-bore pistol.

Afterwards, tension gripped Gulshan-e-Zia as some men fired gunshots in the air to protest Ahmed’s murder and forcibly shut down shops.

Three people including a one-year-old child were shot dead while they were sitting outside a house near Mewa Shah graveyard in Jahanabad, Pak Colony.

SHO Bilal Raza said five people were sitting outside a house when two men riding a motorcycle fired gunshots at them. They were rushed to the Civil Hospital, where 35-year-old Iqbal Baloch, 32-year-old Naeem Baloch and one-year-old Shahnawaz Shakoor expired. Two others, Shakoor and his wife Bibi Satoon, were admitted to the hospital.

Police said they suspected the involvement of a Lyari-based gang in the attack. They added that Shakoor, who was injured in the attack, was a trader and was receiving threats from a group of Lyari-based extortionists. The police said the assailants were probably targeting Shakoor, but he survived but his one-year-old son and neighbours were killed.

Iqbal Baloch was a grave digger and Naeem Baloch the owner of general store located near the site of the attack.

The SHO said the attackers had used 9mm pistols.