Two ASWJ workers shot dead near Nagan Chowrangi

Two workers of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) were shot dead when unidentified motorcyclists opened fire at a perfume shop near Siddiq-e-Akbar Masjid in Nagan Chowrangi on Monday.

According to police, the victims were identified as 22-year-old Abu Bakr, a resident of Federal B Area Block 11, and scholar Maulana Shah Ahmed Pirzada, a graduate of Jamia Ahsan-ul-Uloom, Gulshan-e-Iqbal. Abu Bakr, a Hafiz-e-Quran and the fourth among six siblings, had started working at the shop just two months ago, while Pirzada, who hailed from Gilgit, had been residing in Karachi for several years.

Police and rescue teams shifted the victims to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Initial reports suggested that the assailants opened indiscriminate fire and fled. Law enforcement officials had collected CCTV footage and recorded witness statements to help trace the attackers.

The focal person of Ulema Committee Sindh, Aqib Khan Swati, expressed deep concern over recurring targeted killings of ASWJ workers. “We want justice through legal means, but the killers vanish after murdering innocent people. Why do they never face punishment? How long will we continue to suffer such incidents?” he asked. ASWJ spokesperson Umer Mavia termed the attack a clear case of target killing, alleging that individuals affiliated with their organisation were being systematically targeted to fuel sectarian unrest. He urged law enforcement agencies to take immediate action to prevent further attacks and arrest those responsible.

The funeral prayers of Pirzada were offered after Maghrib prayers near Markaz Ahl-e-Sunnat, adjacent to Nagan Chowrangi. The prayers were led by ASWJ Karachi chief Allama Rab Nawaz Hanafi and attended by thousands of workers, clerics, and leaders from various districts, including Maulana Taj Muhammad Hanafi, Maulana Mohiuddin Shah and Maulana Abdul Rafi Shah.

Addressing the gathering, Hanafi condemned the killings, calling them evidence of the “deteriorating law and order situation in Sindh.” He said, “Regrettably, the province has turned into a lawless jungle. Where is the administration, where is the government?”

He said that only ten days earlier another ASWJ worker was gunned down in a similar attack, adding that five ASWJ members had been targeted and killed in Karachi this year alone. He said the slain men were not just workers but active office-bearers of the organisation’s student wing.