MQM men dead in Karachi

KARACHI: Two political workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) were gunned down in Karachi on Wednesday. An activist of the MQM was gunned down late on Wednesday night in the Shah Faisal Colony No 4 near the Kakar Hotel. Waqar Ilyas Teelu, 28, was going towards Kakar Hotel from his home when unidentified armed motorcyclists opened fire at him and fled. As a result, Teelu died on the spot. He was an office-bearer of the MQM Unit 108. Tension prevailed in the area after his murder. Separately, intermittent firing started again in various areas of the city including Qasba, Banaras, Shahrah-e-Jehan, Katti Pahari and Shah Faisal Colony. According to reports, Pakistan Rangers conducted raids in the Lines area and Shah Faisal Colony and detained 15 people in connection with the recent spate of targeted killings in the city. The arrested people were taken to an undisclosed location for interrogation. Also on Wednesday, JI activist Mobinul Haq was shot dead in the Muhammad Ali Sharif Society at Gulshan-e-Rafi in Alfalah police precincts. Haq was at a teashop when unidentified men opened fire at him and fled. As a result, he was seriously injured and was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medical treatment, where he succumbed to his injuries. According to the area station house officer (SHO), the victim was a resident of the same area and a hardcore activist of the JI, who was recently released on bail after serving more than four years in prison over the charges of killing Jamia Millia’s Professor Iftikharuddin. The SHO said that he was also a former activist of the outlawed Sipah-e-Sahaba. Afterwards, the JI activists staged a demonstration to protest against the killing of Haq along with his body at the Karachi Press Club (KPC).