Karachi Shooting Kills Two in Suspected Sectarian Attack

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Two people were killed and three others injured in a gun attack by unidentified assailants at Pehlwan Goth, Karachi, on Sunday evening, according to police officials.

Gulshan Superintendent of Police (SP) Ahmed Iqbal Memon told Dawn.com that five individuals were shot outside a battery shop near the Sindh-Balochistan Housing Society. “The injured were taken to a nearby private hospital, where two of them were pronounced dead,” Memon said. He added that the exact motive behind the shooting was still being investigated.

A statement from the Sharqi police station confirmed that the attack occurred while the victims were seated at the shop. “Initial reports indicate that two motorcyclists arrived at the location and opened fire. There are unverified claims about a car being present at the scene, which we are working to confirm,” the statement said. Forensic teams have collected evidence, including bullet casings, from the crime scene.

East Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Farrukh Raza acknowledged that investigators were receiving mixed information from residents and witnesses regarding the motive.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for a local religio-political group, Syed Ali Ahmed Zaidi, alleged the shooting was a targeted killing. He claimed that one of the deceased victims was the son of Maulana Rajab Ali Bangash, a prayer leader at a mosque in the area. “All of the victims were members of the Ahle Tashi community and originally hailed from Gilgit-Baltistan,” he added.

Religious leader Allama Sadiq Jafri condemned the attack and demanded swift justice. “We demand the immediate arrest of the suspects involved in this incident. The increase in target killings puts a question mark on law enforcement agencies,” he stated. Jafri also warned of a resurgence in sectarian violence, saying, “The network of sectarian extremists is becoming active again.”

This incident follows another suspected targeted killing earlier in the week, where senior lawyer Khawaja Shamsul Islam was shot dead and his son injured after attending funeral prayers in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA). South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Asad Raza reported that the shooting occurred in DHA Phase 6, when a lone gunman fired at the pair as they exited the mosque. Islam died from his injuries after being taken to a private hospital in Clifton.