Altaf asks Gilani to take action against extortion mafia in Karachi

Daily Times


KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain called Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani and discussed with him the overall political situation in the country and the dwindling law and order situation in Punjab. Hussain informed the PM about the concerns of the business community in Karachi over the rising incidents of extortion. He said the PM that antisocial and criminal elements of Lyari gang-war were threatening the business community to pay extortion money or face dire consequences. He said those who do not comply with the demands of the criminals are threatened that they and their family members would be abducted and murdered. He demanded of the prime minister to exercise his authority to rid the business community of Karachi from the clutches of the criminals. PM Gilani assured Hussain that no one would be allowed to intimidate the business community of the industrial and commercial hub of Pakistan. He said that the government would solve this issue on priority basis.

Traders accuse mafia of target killing

Tribune

KARACHI: The country’s largest spare-parts market closed down on Wednesday as traders protested the killing of their colleague.

An auto spare parts dealer, Haji Irfan Khatri, was gunned down on Tuesday, when it appeared that he showed resistance to motorcycle thieves. The protesters alleged, however, that the shopkeepers were being threatened by the extortion ‘mafia’ for the last two years and they believed that Khatri was killed by them.

Meanwhile, at least eight people including three activists of the Awami National Party (ANP) and three Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) activists were gunned down in targeted killings on Wednesday.

All three ANP workers were separately shot dead in Pehlwan Goth. ANP spokesman Qadir Khan said the culprits first killed Khayal Wazir, the cousin of ANP’s ward president Liaquat Bangash, and then murdered Saleem Khan after kidnapping him. The third member, Shahid Ghani, was killed when he was going to attend the funeral prayers of Wazir and Saleem Khan.

Fifty-year-old Shakir Ali, an MQM worker, was killed and three other activists were hurt in Manghopir. Earlier, a bullet-riddled body of another MQM worker, Adil Sattar, was found from Khokhrapar police precincts.

Separately, head constable Rana Sohail alias Akhri Baloch, 38, was gunned down.Similarly, a Pashto-speaking man, Wali Hassan, was shot dead in the limits of the Mochko police station.

Another MQM worker, identified as Sajjad Ahmed, was shot dead near Jauhar Chowrangi within the limits of the Sharae Faisal police station. In another incident, an alleged drug peddler, Kamran, was shot dead in Azizabad.An unidentified man was gunned down in firing at a hotel in the Pirabad police station precincts.