Principal of government institute Syed Zafar Mehdi Zaidi and driver killed in Malir
06-5-2002
KARACHI, May 6: Principal of a government institute, his driver and peon were shot dead in an ambush in Al-Falah, Malir, on Monday morning.
Police and witnesses said official Suzuki Hi-Roof (GS- 5062) carrying Syed Zafar Mehdi Zaidi, 50, Principal of the Government Jamia Millia Polytechnic Institute, his driver and peon, came under attack 500 yards from the institute where the driver had slowed down to take a turn as the road was submerged by stinking water.
As a result, Zaidi suffered bullet wounds and died instantaneously. His driver Mir Zaman, 49, and peon Mukhtar, 54, also suffered bullet wounds and were taken to a nearby private hospital where they were pronounced dead. Later, they were shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for postmortem examination where the hospital sources said Zaidi suffered two bullets, and his driver and peon received four bullets each.
The Rangers, posted at the institute, reached the spot after hearing the gunshots and shifted the victims by Edhi ambulances to a nearby private hospital first and later moved them to the JPMC.
Police, who also reached the spot later, said three youths were apparently waiting for the arrival of Zaidi near Kashmiri Eating House just 500 yards from the institute. The youths, armed with sophisticated weapons and their faces veiled, sprayed Zaidi's vehicle with bullets from different directions and fled the scene on their motorcycle. The police found eight empty bullets at the spot.
Karachi DIG Tariq Jamil said: "It is an act of terrorism. However, we have to work out whether or not it is a sectarian- motivated incident." However, a senior staff member of the Jamia Millia College, on condition of anonymity, said: "The principals of the two educational institutions in the same premises, had been receiving threatening calls for the past some days."
He expressed ignorance whether the two principals informed the police or any other law enforcement agency about the threatening calls.
The staff of the Government Jamia Millia Degree College, located on the same premises on which the Government Polytechnic Institute is, told Dawn, that Zaidi, resident of the staff town of the college in Shershah, might have picked up peon Mukhtar on his way to the institute.
Zaidi had taken charge of the college some three years back, his colleagues said.
A visit to the Government Jamia Millia Polytechnic Institute after the incident showed that the two institutions wore a deserted look as the classes were suspended for three days to mourn the death of the principal, according to a notice displayed at the institution's notice board.
Earlier on Feb 6, the Principal of Superior Science College, Prof Syed Azhar Husain Zaidi, 58, and his son, Syed Ashar Husain, 26, traveling in their car (W-4272) were intercepted at the college gate by two armed men who sprayed their vehicle with bullets and escaped. They were rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where they responded to the treatment.
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Participants of Zafar Mehdi's funeral turn violent
KARACHI May 7: The State has lodged FIR No 206/2002 at
North Nazimabad Police Station against leaders and workers of
Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Jafria Alliance (JA) for rioting and
arson, stone pelting and creating law and order situation on Monday
night in North Nazimabad during the funeral procession of Syed Zafar
Mehdi Zaidi, the slain principal of Jamia Millia Polytechnic
Institute, Malir.
Muttahida leader and former MPA Abdul Qadir
Lakhani, Chacha Abdul Waheed, Moosa Abidi, Syed Sagheer Abid Rizvi and
50 other activists of Muttahida and JA were booked in the FIR lodged
by SHO North Nazimabad PS Inspector Syed Rizwan Ali Wasti under
Section 147, 148, 336 and 427 PPC.
According to FIR the accused created law and order
problem and ransacked a restaurant McDonald's at Block A, North
Nazimabad. Witnesses said enraged protestors who were mourning the
killing of Zafar Mehdi staged a protest sit-in at Nazimabad
Chowrangi-1 after the Namaz-e-Janaza held at Imambargah Rizvia.
Participants of the funeral raised slogans against the government and
demanded immediate arrest of the killers. Later the youths,
accompanying the funeral procession, pelted stones at American food
outlet McDonald's in North Nazimabad and also on some fast food
restaurants situated at Five Star Chowrangi in Block D, North
Nazimabad when the procession reached there. They also pelted stones
on moving vehicles.
Tension gripped all the areas from where the
procession passed and shopkeepers closed their businesses. However,
heavy contingents of police and rangers escorted the funeral
procession to avoid any mishap.
Zafar Mehdi was later laid to rest in Wadi-e-Husain
graveyard at Super Highway near Gulshan-e-Maymar. Mehdi, his driver
Mir Zaman and peon Mukhtar Ahmad were gunned down in Malir area on
Monday morning.
PTI, SPLA condemn principal's killing
KARACHI, May 7: The secretary-general of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Mairaj Muhammad Khan, has condemned the killing of Prof Zafar Mehdi Zaidi, the principal of Jamia Millia College, his driver Munir and Chowkidar Mukhtar by terrorists
and said it was not only against Islam, but against all norms and values
Recalling that talented doctors, lawyers, engineers and professionals of the Shia community were being killed under a diabolical conspiracy for quite some time, he said that even mosques and Imambargahs were not safe at the hands of these professional killers.
The PTI leader warned that if this trend continued unchecked and the Shia Muslims were pushed to the wall, it would destroy the unity of the people of Pakistan.
He said that billions of rupees were being spent on the police and intelligence agencies and they have failed to arrest the killers. He demanded that if the present military government cannot protect the life and property of the citizens, it should resign.
SPLA: The Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association held a condolence meeting on the premises of Government Jamia Millia Degree College, Malir. The meeting, presided over by Prof Sirajuddin Qazi, expressed grief and sorrow over the killing of the Principal of Jamia Millia Poly-Technic Institute Professor Zafar Mehdi Zaidi, driver Munir Zaman and guard Mukhtar Ahmad by terrorists, a press release said on Tuesday.
The meeting deplored the helplessness on the parts of the administration and pointed out that a conspiracy had been hatched to wipe out scholars, doctors, lawyers and teachers from Karachi and killers were roaming freely without any fear.
The meeting demanded that their murderers be arrested forthwith, sympathized with the bereaved families and demanded of the administration to extend every kind of help to them.
The meeting decided to observe a mourning day on Thursday (May 9), in all colleges of the province, where Quran Khawani, Fateha and condolence meetings would be held and copies of resolutions adopted condemning the terrorist attack would be sent to higher authorities.
The meeting expressed sympathies with the teachers of poly-technic colleges and assured them of their full cooperation. It was agreed to call for a joint meeting of all the organisations of teachers to consider a strategy for forestalling such incidents in future.
The meeting also decided that the SPLA members would continue to carry out their invigilation / examination duties in the supreme interest of the students.
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