A Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) office-bearer was shot dead by unidentified assailants in New Karachi in the early hours of Wednesday, according to the Bilal Colony police.
Forty-year-old Haji Shehzad, MQM-P joint union council incharge for UC-8, was sitting at a tea hotel with friends when six men on three motorbikes arrived on the scene with their faces covered and opened indiscriminate fire before speeding away.
Shehzad suffered a bullet wound to the ribs and was rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Due to a lack of facilities, he was referred to Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment.
His funeral prayers were held in the afternoon near his residence, with family members, relatives, and a large number of MQM-P leaders and workers in attendance. They censured the incident, and demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible for the murder. No case had been registered until the filing of this report.
Police termed the incident a target killing, and said efforts are under way to obtain CCTV camera footage from the area. Four spent 9mm bullet casings have been collected from the crime scene.
Following the incident, a large number of MQM-P members, along with MPA Kamran Farooqi and other party leaders, reached the CHK. District Central police chief SSP Zeeshan Shafiq Siddiqui also reached the hospital to meet the victim’s family.
The officer directed police officials to provide full cooperation to the heirs, and register an FIR in accordance with their statements to ensure the swift arrest of the suspects.
Police said the deceased was a resident of New Karachi Sector 5-E and a father of four. He worked for the Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation, and was posted at the New Karachi Power House pumping station.
The MQM-P termed the incident a cowardly act aimed at destabilising peace in Karachi. In a statement, the party spokesperson expressed deep grief over the murder, and demanded immediate action from the Sindh chief minister, the home minister, and the Rangers and police chiefs. The spokesperson said the MQM-P would continue to raise their voice at all forums for the protection of residents and the restoration of law and order in the city.
