Daily Times

KARACHI: The son-in-law of the deputy general secretary of the Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) was gunned down in an act of target killing has been laid to rest on Wednesday. Shia Ulema Council following the killings of two peopleof the Shia community in two consecutive attacks has warned of government that they would hold protest demonstrations from Friday (January 27).

Maulana Qari Muhammad Kazim who was a son-in-law of MQM leader Maulana Muhammad Hussain Kareemi was gunned down late on Tuesday night in an act of target killing near Munawar Chowrangi in Gulistan-e-Jauhar when he was on his way to home on his motorcycle.

Police officials have informed that at least two armed men riding a motorcycle shot and killed him. He was shot thrice and died at the spot. His body was taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for autopsy and later handed over to his family for burial process.

Gulistan-e-Jauhar SHO Niaz Panwar said that the victim was killed in an act of target killing apparently over sectarian basis while the case is being investigated from different angles. The officer said that the empty shells of the bullets used in his killing were recovered from crime scene and sent to the forensic division of the Sindh police. The case has also been registered against unidentified persons and further investigation is underway.

His funeral prayers were offered at Numaish Chowrangi after Zuhrain prayers which besides his family members were also attended by large number of people belonging to his community. The participants of the funeral prayers also staged a protest over the incident and shouted slogans against the banned outfits. He was then buried at Wadi-e-Hussain graveyard.

Later MWM held a press conference at the organization’s provincial office at Numaish Chowrangi where MQM central leader Allama Ahmed Iqbal Rizvi condemned the killing of the victim and demanded the government to take stern actions against the militant organisations which was decided in the national action plan. “Two of our community members have so far been killed in two days in a fresh wave of sectarian violence and government and law enforcement agencies have remained silent with empty hands,” he said. Allama Rizvi stressed the government and law enforcement agencies to launch a proper crackdown against the militant organisations operating in the city despite the three years long Karachi operation.