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.

Shia doctor & EX MS SG Hospital gunned down in Peshawar-Karachi

Target Killing: PML-N leader among 17 killed in Karachi Published: January 23, 2013 According to witnesses, unidentified men riding motorcycle and a car opened fire on Taimoor’s car from both sides. PHOTO: FILE Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Sindh’s joint secretary Mian taimoor and his father Mian Arbab were shot dead in Defence phase VI area of Karachi, Express News reported. They were brought to a private hospital in Defence phase I, where they succumbed to their injuries. Police and leaders of OML-N are present in the hospital. According to witnesses, unidentified men riding motorcycle and a car opened fire on Taimoor’s car from both sides. The motive behind the shooting is still unclear. Police said that the initial finding suggests that it could be an incident of targeted killing. Sindh hospital MS shot dead A former medical superintendent (MS) of Sindh Government Hospital and a former SHO were among three people shot dead in separate targeted attacks in Karachi on Tuesday night. Former MS Hassan Alam was shot and killed near UP Mor in North Karachi. He was on his way home from his private clinic when two unidentified men riding a motorcycle shot him once, killing him on the spot, according to police officials. New Karachi division SP Salman Hussain said the motive behind the murder had not yet been ascertained and a case has not been registered. The former SHO Alamgir was also killed in North Karachi, near Nagan Chowk. Police said he was shot once in his chest as he was leaving a tyre shop. Arif Rajjar was shot dead earlier in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal area. Rajjar and his companions were the prime suspects of a firing incident at a party in a bungalow in Khayaban-e-Rahat. He was reported to have been shot six times by unidentified assailants Overall law and order situation of the city remained precarious throughout the day, 17 people had been shot dead in the city. ======= Sectarian violence: Shia doctor gunned down in Peshawar By Riaz Ahmad Published: January 22, 2013 “Our team has reached the clinic and they are inspecting the crime scene. No FIR has been registered so far,” say police. PHOTO: FILE PESHAWAR: In an apparent incident of sectarian violence, a Shia doctor was gunned down in Peshawar on Tuesday afternoon at his clinic in Liaqat Bazaar, Saddar. Eyewitnesses said that they heard several gunshots minutes after three men entered Dr Shahnawaz Ali’s clinic. When they rushed to the clinic, they found him dead with a bullet wound to his head. The attackers managed to flee after the incident. “Our team has reached the clinic and they are inspecting the crime scene. No FIR has been registered so far,” an official of the West Cantt police station told The Express Tribune. Dr Shah Nawaz belonged to a prominent Shia family of the walled city of Peshawar and was said to be a relative of SP Hilal Haider who was killed in a suicide attack in the Qisakhwani Bazaar last year. In the past few months, several Shia Muslims have been targeted including Dr Riaz Hussain, a prominent Shia leader from Para Chinar Kurram Agency who was also the president of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Kurram Agency chapter. Additional Session Judge Ihtisham Ali was also attacked but was lucky enough to escape the assassination attempt in Hayatabad, only sustaining minor injuries. ================ Gunmen kill Shia leader during mourning procession in Chiniot By Rabia Mehmood Published: January 1, 2013 Shia community members identify one of the attackers as a former Sipah-e-Sahaba leader. PHOTO: APP/file LAHORE: Organiser of Shia religious activities and license holder for the main mourning processions in Chiniot, Malik Mukhtar Hussain, was allegedly target killed by six armed men during a mourning procession which was underway on December 31. Six gunmen on three motorbikes had barged into the vicinity of Imambargah Qasr-e-Abu Talib located in Chowk Shori Pipli area in Muhallah Rangraizan and opened fire at Hussain. Two teenage devotees were also injured in the attack that took place during the mourning procession for the death of the 8th Imam of Shias. Eye witnesses told the The Express Tribune that although the imambargah compound does not have a gate, security was beefed up by police. They added that the gunmen tried to forcibly enter the compound and succeeded in crossing the police check point, eye witnesses said. Syed Shahan Raza, devotee and eye witness of the incident told The Express Tribune via telephone that, Hussain had walked past him, moving towards the entrance point of the imambargah to inquire why there was a clamour when the armed motorcyclists opened fire at him. Raza said he went to the DHQ Hospital with Hussain and that he had to be shifted to Allied Hospital in Faisalabad, but Hussain succumbed to his injuries on the way. Raza added, “Hussain had received several bullets including one in the head.” 34-year-old Hussain owned a catering business and leaves behind a young son and a wife. The incident took place between 10:45pm to 11:00pm on Monday. An FIR against the gunmen was lodged under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 780 A of the Anti-Terrorism Act. Station House Officer of the concerned police station, Naveed Murtaza, was suspended as a result of “negligence” in this incident. District Police Officer Zameerul Hassan said, “We have been working on this case since Hussain was murdered.” The newly inducted SHO of the police Station, Ghulam Abbas, told The Express Tribune that the police have not yet managed to arrest any of the suspects named in the FIR, however, he said that the police was conducting raids. The two teenagers, identified as Muazzam Ali, 16 and Zeeshan Ali, 17, came under fire because they were standing behind Hussain in the procession. Muazzam was put on a ventilator late last night owing to critical injuries he sustained in the chest and neck. Zeeshan was also injured with a bullet that pierced through his chest. Members of the Shia community of Chiniot told The Express Tribune that the attackers abandoned their bikes at the imambargah and managed to evade the police. They identified one of the attackers as Chauhdry Zulfiqar Jutt, a former Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan district-level leader. Jutt has a criminal record. Locals said that sectarian tensions in the area had increased after the murder of banned militant outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba’s former district president Hafiz Abubakar in September, 2012. In the month of Ramazan during August 2012, founder of banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and now the Vice President of Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-Jammat, Malik Ishaq, visited a mosque in Chiniot and an FIR was registered against him on charges of inciting hatred by delivering speeches that fueled sectarian tensions in the area. ===============