Four Shia Muslims killed in Karachi

Anothe­r three were injure­d in differ­ent parts of the city. By AFP Published: November 4, 2013 Share this article Print this page Email . PHOTO: INP/ FILE KARACHI: At least four Shia Muslims, including two doctors, were gunned down on Monday and three others were injured in different parts of Karachi, police officials said just days before the holy month of Muharram starts. A doctor was shot dead in the Manghopir neighborhood in western district and another was gunned down around noon at Tariq Road in the eastern part of the city. They were identified by police as Dr Sher Ali and Dr Naseem Zaidi respectively. “The killing pattern shows that they were apparently carried out on sectarian grounds,” Javed Alam Odho, the deputy inspector general of police told AFP. The other two victims were killed in central district when unknown attackers burst into a tailor’s shop and opened fire. The owner and a worker were killed and three others were injured. “The attack seemed to be on sectarian lines as all of the people inside the shop were Shia,” senior police officer Aamir Farooqi said. The latest attacks came ahead of the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Muharram, when Shia mourn the seventh century martyrdom of Hussain, the grandson of prophet Mohammad, along with his family members. Shias make up around a fifth of the predominantly Sunni Muslim population. Police are already carrying out operations against criminal groups to curb sectarian and political killings. Security would be further tightened for Muharram, they said. “We are already carrying out the operation against sectarian and other elements and we would certainly intensify our efforts during the coming days,” Odho said. Karachi, a city of 18 million people which contributes a major portion of Pakistan’s GDP, is rife with murder and kidnappings and has been plagued for years by ethnic, sectarian and political violence. =============== 13 dead in Karachi, ASWJ targeted Six member­s of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat killed today; four member­s of Shia commun­ity killed yester­day. By Web Desk / Faraz KhanPublished: November 5, 2013Tweet Share this article Print this page Email . File photo of an attack on a Karachi Imam bargah. PHOTO: ONLINE/FILE .KARACHI: Despite ongoing Rangers operations in Karachi, 13 people were shot dead in different incidents of targeted killings since last night, Express News reported on Tuesday. This rise in violence came soon after Chief Army Staff General Kayani’s visit to Karachi on Monday, during which he was briefed on the city’s law and order situation and he voiced his appreciation of the Sindh Rangers’s peace efforts. ASWJ under attack Three activists of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), Mufti Tariq, Mohammad Jan and Raza Gul and three supporters of the ASWJ Ayaz, Yar Mohammad and Ramzan were gunned down separately in Defence, Mehmoodabad and Korangi areas. Deceased Mufti Tariq was a religious scholar, while Mohammad Jan was the Moazzin at the Muqaddas Masjid near Kala Pul. Raza Gul was a senior activist of the ASWJ. Mufti Tariq and Yar Mohammad were gunned down in the Mehmoodabad locality, Raza Gul was shot dead in Korangi as were Ramzan and Ayaz, while Mohammad Jan was gunned down in Defence. MQM worker killed Besides these killings, a worker of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Nadeem was killed and another Farhan was wounded in Orangi Town. Separately, 28-year-old Ahsan was killed in Ittehad Town, a young man was found dead from Ali Mohammad Mohalla in Lyari, the bodies of a woman and her daughter were found from their house in Sohrab Goth locality. Additionally, the bodies of a husband and a wife were found from an underground water tank inside their house in Orangi Town, while the two injured persons who were wounded in a firing incident at a tailor shop on Monday at Zeenat Square in Sharifabad succumbed to their injuries. ‘Conspiracy afoot’ Karachi Police Chief Shahid Hayat told the media that those who carried out targeted attacks today have been identified and would be arrested. He said a conspiracy was afoot to stir sectarian conflict in the city. Sectarian strife The city witnessed similar bloodshed yesterday when four people of the Shia community were killed. These attacks occurred just days before the commencement of Muharram. A plastic surgeon was gunned down near Liberty Chowk, Tariq Road, within the limits of Ferozabad police station, while a medical technician at the Leprosy Hospital in Manghopir was shot dead in Manghopir’s Garam Chashma area. A tailor, belonging to the Shia community, was gunned down, along with his Sunni friend when armed motorcyclists opened fire at his shop in Zeenat Square in FC Area. Muhammad Shan, 32, was gunned down near Patel Hospital in Gulshan-e-Iqbal when he was taking the zuljinah [horse] for ziarat. Karachi, a city of 18 million people which contributes a major portion of Pakistan’s GDP, is rife with murder and kidnappings and has been plagued for years by ethnic, sectarian and political violence.