Nine shot dead outside Imambargah Muntazirul Mehdi in Malir
22-2-2003
KARACHI, Feb 22: Nine people were shot dead and seven others wounded by three attackers outside an Imambargah in Rafah- i-Aam Society on Saturday evening.
Police and witnesses said that three men on a motorbike stopped in front of a tea shop adjacent to Imambargah Muntazirul Mehdi.
Two of them, armed with AK-47 rifles, alighted the motorbike and opened fire on the tea shop and those entering the Imambargah to offer the Maghribain prayers. The attackers then fled.
Seven bodies and eight wounded were taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre where another victim succumbed to wounds. Another dead was removed from the spot to his home.
The dead were identified as Khadim Hussain; Yawar Abbas, 22; Mohabbat Ali, 25; Ramzan Ali, 18; Mohammad Ali, 13; Saqib, 17; and Mohammad Ali, 28. Two others remained unidentified at the hospital.
The wounded were identified as Imtiaz Hussain, Rashid Hussain, Mohammad Issa, Zahur Ahmed, Mohammad Ali, Basharat Hussain and Shamsullah.
Tension gripped the entire locality falling under the Al Falah police limits. Shops and markets in Al-Falah and nearby Shah Faisal Colony were closed, and roads and streets turned deserted. The police and rangers had started patrolling the locality.
Shops and markets were also closed down in Ancholi where the bodies were sent. Four of the bodies would be flown to Gilgit on Sunday. Unknown miscreants set a truck on fire near Sohrab Goth late night, fire brigade sources said.
One of the injured, Imtiaz, a student of BCom part I, said: "We were watching the cricket match. We switched off the television as the prayers time approached. Some of us were coming out of the tea shop and some others were entering the Imambargah/mosque when the shooting started. I fell down to save my life, but a bullet hit me".
Ali Mohammad, the father of deceased Mohammad Ali, said: "We have been living in this locality for the past many years. My son got married two months ago. He went to offer prayers when this horrible incident took place and my son lost his life".
A witness, Aqib Hussain, said: "I was standing near my motorbike and talking to one of my friends at some distance from the Imambargah when I heard gunshots. I ran into a narrow lane to save my life."
Witnesses said the police were immediately informed on Madadgar 15, but they came after more than half an hour.
Talking to reporters at the JPMC, Sindh Home Minister Syed Sardar Ahmed termed the shooting a conspiracy to destabilize the democratic government.
He linked the killings to the murder of Khalid Bin Waleed, a leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. He said Mr Waleed was playing a significant role in creating harmony between various sects and those who had killed Mr Waleed were behind today's killings.
He said the government had already intensified the security at all Madaris and worship places. In reply to a question how did the incident take place if the security at Imambargah Muntazirul Mehdi had been adequate, he said an inquiry would be conducted to know whether or not the security had been provided to the Imambargah.
SSP Investigation (Homicide) Manzoor Mughal said: "It appears to be sectarian killings and of course, an act of terrorism."
ALTAF CONDEMNS: In a statment from London, MQM chief Altaf Hussain condemned the killings. He said it was an act of terrorism, an attempt to incite sectarian hatred to sabotage the peace of the city.
He demanded of the government to inquire into the incident and arrest those involved in the incident.
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Lashkar man identified in sectarian killings
KARACHI, March 12: The Afghanistan-born activist of the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, allegedly involved in several sectarian killings, was identified on Tuesday by two sets of witnesses in different cases.
Abdul Wahab alias Jamil alias Khalid, arrested on March 7 following a shootout with police in New Karachi, was first produced in the court of Judicial Magistrate, East, Ayub Bhatti, who conducted his identification parade in the Al-Fallah killing case.
Three eye-witnesses, including Abbas Masood, identified the Lashkar man as one of those who opened fire at the al-Muntazir al Mehdi imambargah on February 22.
Nine people were killed and seven others wounded when two of the three attackers, riding a bike, opened fire at an eating house next to the imambargah.
Later, the police brought the suspected killer to the court of Judicial Magistrate, South, Naseem Akhtar, for identification in the case pertaining to the killing of two Iranians at a bakery.
Three eye-witnesses - Mohammed Ali, Shakir and Kazim - identified the suspect as one of the attackers.
The witnesses also recorded their statements before the two magistrates under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The suspect was given in the police custody for interrogation till March 18 by the administrative judge of ATCs, Justice Shabbir Ahmed of the Sindh High Court.
The 45-year-old Iranian owner of Subhanullah Bakery, Ghulam Hussain, and his 18-year-old nephew had died instantly after being shot from a very close range in their outlet on M. A. Jinnah Road on February 27.
Justice Shabbir Ahmed of the Sindh High Court, who is also the administrative judge of the anti-terrorism courts for Karachi Division, remanded on Wednesday a suspect, Abdul Wahab, in police custody till March 18.
The accused has been charged with killing nine people and injuring eight others at an Imambargah in Al-Falah Society on Feb 22. His two accomplices, Shaukat and Shahnawaz, have been shown as absconders in the case.
According to the police, the accused, along with two others, fired on people with automatic weapons when they were going to offer Maghreb prayers in Imambargah Al-Muntazir Al-Mehdi at Al-Falah Society.
Khadim Husain, Muhammad Ali, Sadiq Husain, Muhabbat Ali, Ishtiaq Ali, Yawar Abbas, Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Ramzan and Pervaiz were killed and Basharat, Rashid, Zaheer, Hamid Ali, Shamsullah, Imtiaz Husain, Sabir Husain and Essa were injured.
The administrative judge of the ATCs also remanded Abdul Wahab in police custody in two other cases till March 18.
Complainant Nasir Ali lodged the FIR 23/2003 against Abdul Wahab at Arambagh police station on the killing two people, Muhammad Baqar and Ghulam Husain, in a bakery at Lighthouse on Feb 27. While in another case, the police recovered a submachine gun with 30 rounds from his possession at B/84, Model Colony. - PPI
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