Afghan diplomat shot dead by guard at Karachi consulate

KARACHI: The Third Secretary of the Afghan Consulate in the city was gunned down by a private security guard in the premises of the Afghan Consulate in the Old Clifton area here on Monday. The secretary, Muhammad Zaki Abduh, was shot dead in the area adjoining the Boat Basin Police Station.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Saqib Ismail Memon of District South said: “While acting on the information, the police mobiles rushed to the spot and took the victim to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Later, the police also took custody of the security guard Rahatullah.”

During the investigation, it was found that the deceased Muhammad Zaki Abduh was the third secretary of the Afghan Consulate, who was working here for the past few years. It was on Monday morning, when Zaki had a dispute with the security guard Rahat who pointed his G-3 rifle at Zaki and opened random fire, which killed the diplomat.

SSP Memon said that the deceased had received multiple bullet wounds on his upper torso, including chest, which became the cause of his death. The police had seized the murder weapon and also collected the spent bullet shells from the scene of the crime, which were sent to forensic division of the Sindh Police.

He added that the security guard Rahatullah was an Afghan national but did not possess diplomatic status and had come to Pakistan on normal visa. The SSP added that Rahatullah was hired by the Afghan Consulate for security duty. He mentioned that further screening of the accused was being carried out to ascertain the exact motive behind the murder. On the other hand, the SSP said that the murder might have been committed on enmity grounds. He said a case was reported and investigations were underway.