Unknown assailants kill religious scholar in Quetta, lawyer in Karachi

In fresh spate of sectarian violence, unidentified gunmen on Saturday kill a religious scholar in Quetta and a lawyer along with his son in Karachi.

In first incident, unidentified armed men riding on a bike opened fire at Qari Abdul Basit, the son of famous religious scholar Maulvi Abdul Samad, when he was on his way to the mosque from his residence, killing him at the spot.

However, the attackers as usual successfully managed to escape the scene. The law enforcement agencies after legal formalities handed over the dead-body to heirs for burial.

Soon after the incident, angry protestors burnt tyres at Kasi Road to protest the killing, blocking the road for most vehicular traffic. The business centers and shops in the area remained closed due to the protest demonstrations.

A local police officer while speaking to the media observed, “It could be an incident of targeted killing and police are investigating”.

Hafiz Hamdullah, the president of Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (JUI) Quetta chapter condemned the incident, saying over 10 religious scholars belonging to the Sunni sect have been targeted in the last few months in the provincial metropolis alone.

He commented, “It seems a powerful group is behind the targeted killings and incidents of kidnapping for ransom in Quetta which is why not a single culprit was brought to book”.

In order to spread sectarian violence in the country, Hamdullah said, religious scholars of Sunni and Shia sects were being targeted in different areas. He demanded the law enforcement agencies to expose the assailants otherwise they would have no option except protest demonstrations.

In the meantime, a shia-sect lawyer, Salahuddin Haider, and his son were killed by unknown armed men in the Memon Goth, Karachi.

Haider, the former president of Malir Bar Council, along with his son was on his way to work when four gunmen on two motorbikes opened fire on their vehicle, injuring both of them. They were shifted to hospitals but they did not succumb to injuries.

According to officials, the motive of this attack is still unidentified, although there has been speculation that it was an act of sectarian killing.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Mar 24 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan, Society. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.