Thirty-two people were shot dead in the violence, according to agencies, following the killing of Muttahida Qaumi Movement Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) Raza Haider in the Nazimabad area on Monday evening.
Police put the death toll at 30 as violent incidents rocked the metropolitan city after the killing of the MPA, who was also a senior Muttahida leader. There were fears that the death toll could rise.
According to police surgeon Hamid Priyar, 30 people were killed in the recent spate of targeted killings. He said that by 2 am Tuesday morning , they had received 11 bodies at Civil Hospital Karachi, 11 at Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre, five at Abbasi Shaheed and two at Qatar Hospital in Orangi town.
More than 60 people were injured in the violence. Seventeen were shifted to the CHK, 24 to the JPMC, eight to the ASH and 11 to Qatar Hospital. About 30 vehicles, several shops, one petrol pump and many kiosks and pushcarts were also set on fire. There were also reports of violence and damage to property in interior Sindh.
Life in Karachi came to a standstill as soon as the news of the MQM leader’s killing spread. Massive traffic jams were witnessed at all the major thoroughfares of Karachi. In the ensuing violence, several vehicles were torched.
Police sources said that MPA Haider came to the Nazimabad area to console a death. Later, he went to Jamia Masjid Trust situated in Nazimabad No-2. In the meantime, armed men riding two motorcycles and a Corolla car stopped in front of the mosque. They first killed Constable Khalid, the MPA’s guard, who was standing outside the mosque. Then they barged into the mosque and opened fire at MPA Haider, who was performing ablution. A passer-by, Arsalaan, was also injured in the attack.
Police said that the people present at the scene shifted the injured to hospital where MPA Raza Haider was pronounced dead. Hospital sources said that the deceased MPA Haider received six bullet wounds on his head, right and left arms and chest. They added that PC Khalid received two bullets while Arsalan received three bullets.
The deceased, a resident of Orangi Town, had won the 2008 general elections from PS-94 of Orangi Town. Capital City Police Officer Karachi (CCPO), Waseem Ahmed, told The News that according to initial investigations, the killing was sectarian in nature.
Waseem Ahmad said an inquiry team was constituted to probe the incident. The team comprises DIG West Sultan Khwaja, SSP Raja Omer Khattab of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), Karachi, and two officers of the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) and Investigation Zone. The team has also the assistance of the Special Branch and the Criminal Investigation Department, Sindh.
After the incident, armed miscreants took charge of the city, forcibly closing shops and resorting to aerial firing. Several other people were killed in the late night targeted violence, police said.
The dead included Naseer Khan, who was killed by armed men in Jamia Millia in Al-Falah police limits. Imran was shot dead by armed men in Kharadar area while Amanat Ali was injured in the same area. Ajeeb Khan was killed on the Super Highway and an unidentified taxi driver in Sharea Faisal police limits, whose taxi was also torched.
Police said that Abdul Rehman, 18, and Noor Shah, 41, were shot dead by armed men in Baldia No-5, while Mumtaz was shot dead at Taqi Hotel, Mehmoodabad. Police sources said armed men stopped a mini-bus near Lal Flats, Rashid Minhas Road, and shot and injured the bus driver and then torched the bus.
In the Pakistan Bazar area, armed men stopped a bus near Daata Clinic, Khairabad, Pakistan Bazaar. They shot dead the bus driver Noor Rehman and torched the bus. In a separate case, armed men shot and killed another bus driver Imam Bux near Khadi Stop, Korangi No-5, Awami Colony. Besides, armed assailants killed Shahid near Future Moore. Police said that the deceased was in his car when armed men targeted him. Mohammed Sher, a bus driver, was shot dead by armed men near the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital while he was moving towards Paposh area.
Police said that armed men killed Sher Afzal in Sharea Faisal police limits. They added that the deceased was a bus driver and was targeted near the Rabia City. Armed men shot and killed Umair, another bus driver, on Abul Hassan Isphani Road, and also torched his bus.
Police said that an activist of ANP Noor Zaman was shot dead by armed men in the New Karachi area. The deceased was present in Fish Market, Sector-5 of New Karachi, when armed men riding a motorcycle came and fired at him, killing him on the spot. The deceased was a resident of Quaid-i-Azam Colony, Block-4, Gulshan-i-Iqbal.
In another case, Munir Aga was shot at by armed men in Nazimabad area, police said. Aga is an activist of the Pakhtoon Students Federation (PktSF) and was present near the Gujjar Nullah when armed men targeted him. His condition remains critical.
Meanwhile, armed men also targeted several persons, including Rangers personnel, in the Old Golimar area, while they were present at a roundabout for security duty.
During the spate of violence, armed men torched four trucks on the Hub River Road, a bus at the Rashid Minhas Road, two wagons near the Punjab Chowrangi, three vehicles at Abul Hasan Isphani Road, one bus near Baitul Mukaram Mosque, two vehicles in Landhi, two vehicles, including a coaster, in Shah Faisal Colony.
Moreover, armed men torched a Monday bazaar in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, two vehicles in Landhi-3 and 6. Meanwhile, several shops were damaged and torched near Jauhar Chowrangi and Jauhar More. Armed men torched a Quetta tea hotel and hardware shop near Rose Beauty Parlor, Nazimabad No2.
The fire office confirmed the burning of 20 vehicles in Baldia Town, Nazimabad, Malir, Landhi, Korangi, New Karachi, Gujjar Chowk, North Karachi, Disco Moore, Metrovile SITE and other areas.
They added that markets, including Liaquatabadís Super Market, was torched by armed miscreants during the violence. Fire officials said they had no police protection due to which they could not move to save the market. The other market was torched in Nazimabad area.
Meanwhile, after hearing about the death of MQMís MPA Raza Haider, people present at their offices immediately moved towards their houses due to which major gridlocks were witnessed throughout the city, including Sharea Faisal, MA Jinnah Road, I.I. Chundrigar Road, Mauripur Road and University Road.
A heavy contingent of police and Rangers were patrolling at different parts of the city but they failed to arrest the miscreants involved in the killings or violence. The situation in the city remains extremely tense.
Agencies add: President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Acting President Farooq H. Naek and Acting Chairman Senate Jan Muhammad Khan Jamali and Speaker National Assembly Ms Fehmida Mirza have strongly condemned the murder of MQM MPA Raza Haider.
They have described the ghastly murder as a despicable act and urged the provincial administration to make all out efforts for nabbing the culprits and to award them exemplary punishment.
In their separate messages, they eulogised the services rendered by late Raza Haider for the welfare of masses and said his friends and admirers would always remember his services. They offered their heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace.
The president has issued directives for immediate arrest of killers and has appealed to MQM workers and leaders to be patient so that law and order remains intact. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, while talking to media persons soon after the incident of killing of Raza Haider, said that all the law enforcing agencies had been put on alert and activated to interrogate the incident.
He appealed to the MQM leadership and masses to show tolerance on this grave loss. He assured that soon the killers of the MQM leader would be brought to justice. MQM leader Faisal Sabzwari said that Raza Haider had been killed by terrorists as he was receiving threats for the last few months. He said that it was a great loss for the MQM as he was attached with the party since the last 25 years.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain called for a high-level probe into the murder of Raza Haider. Strongly condemning the killing of the MQM MPA, Altaf termed his killing as a big tragedy, said a statement issued by the MQM here.
Altaf Hussain said MPA Raza Haider was one of the oldest and honest workers of the party and his murder was an irreparable loss for the MQM. He also condoled with the bereaved family members and said he himself and all activists of the MQM shared their grief. Altaf has called upon the government to immediately arrest the killers.
HYDERABAD: Three people were injured in firing incidents while as many shops were torched following the assassination of MQM MPA Raza Haider in Hyderabad on Monday. Unidentified gunmen on motorcycles were reported to be responsible for injuring these people. The shops located at Cloth Market were torched by unknown armed men.
Incidents of aerial firing were reported from various areas in Hyderabad, including Hyderabad City, Pakka Qilla and Hyder Chowk. The injured were shifted to Civil Hospital for treatment. Panic prevailed in the city where major markets and business centres were shut down after the tragic incident. A Suzuki pickup was burned down in Tando Adam.
