MQM-P leader, two associates killed in Machar Colony

A local leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and his two associates were killed in a clash between two groups reported from District Keamari on Monday evening.

Police said they took prompt action after the clash and arrested some suspects. According to police, they received information in the evening about a brutal clash in Machar Colony within the limits of the Docks police station.

Responding to the information, police vehicles reached the scene where they found two groups firing at each other. The police raised alarm and ordered them to surrender.

Upon seeing the police, the suspects attempted to flee the scene but the police chased them and arrested two of them with weapons. A total of three people were critically wounded during the firing. They were rushed to a hospital where they were pronounced dead. The identity of the deceased persons is yet to be ascertained.

District Keamari SSP Arif Aslam Rao said the clash occurred in Machar Colony near Umar bin Khattab Masjid. In the firing, a man, Siraj, alias Siraji, and two of his associates were killed. The officer explained that as soon as the incident was reported, the Keamari Division ASP and Docks SHO reached the scene along with a team and cordoned off the area.

The two arrested men were Nisaar Pathan and his brother. Police said they were the main suspects who killed the three men. A rifle and a pistol were seized from their possession. According to the preliminary investigation, there was a dispute between Pathan and Siraj. A search operation has been launched to arrest more suspects involved in the incident. Further investigations are under way.

PPP blamed

Reacting to the murders, MQM-P Deputy Convener Anis Kaimkhani said the criminals belonged to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). In a statement, he said the MQM-P’s candidate in NA-243 Keamari, Humayun Usman, was campaigning in the area along with party workers when some armed supporters of the PPP resorted to firing on them.

He named PPP local office bearer Nisar Khan as the primary suspect in the murder, adding that he was a coordinator of PPP leader Abdul Qadir Patel. Kaimkhani also claimed that besides the three deaths, many supporters of the MQM-P were also injured in the incident.

He demanded that the interim prime minister and chief of army staff take notice of the incident and arrest the PPP’s men responsible for firing.