Lyari gang war’s last kingpin Ghaffar Zikri shot dead

Lyari Town’s bloody history has seen the rise and fall of many kingpins. Ghaffar Zikri was the last of them until Thursday morning, when he and a close aide of his were gunned during a shoot-out with the police.

However, the law enforcement agency’s victory turned sour when the encounter also left Zikri’s three-year-old son dead. “We had tried to kill him [Zikri] a number of times in the past, but today, finally, we managed to kill him due to the prayers of our mothers,” Baghdadi SHO Shahoor Bangash told The News. He claimed that the gangster had used his son as a human shield to escape the gunfight.

He said they killed Zikri in his dominant Ali Muhammad Muhalla, commonly known as Zikri Muhalla, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Baghdadi police station. Two police officials also suffered bullet wounds during the shoot-out.

Regarding the shocking outcome of the encounter, the SHO said: “What should have we done at that time, when Zikri and his men were attacking us? They injured our jawans! Did you expect us to ensure his son’s safety in that situation?”

The officer said that Sub-Inspector Allah Ditta was admitted to the Sindh Institute of Urology & Transplantation with critical wounds and one of his kidneys has been removed, adding that a police constable is also under treatment at a hospital.  

Minor’s death

Former Sindh police chief Afzal Shigri told The News that a proper investigation should be conducted into the death of Zikri’s son. “In such cases [encounters], the police engaged in a shoot-out have mere seconds to decide what to do.”

Nevertheless, Shigri reiterated that a proper investigation is required to ascertain if the officer or jawan whose bullet killed the boy could have done anything to save him.

Police operation

Briefing the media about the shoot-out, South Zone chief DIG Javed Alam Odho said the police had launched an operation after receiving information about Zikri’s presence at one of his hideouts.

“Zikri attacked the police with a hand grenade and opened fire on them,” said DIG Odho. “The police retaliated after Zikri and his men attacked them.”

The officer said the police team also found a huge cache of weapons, including rockets, two sub-machine guns, a hand grenade and over 200 rounds of ammunition, during their search of the hideout.

The police confirmed that the operation, which lasted around an hour and a half, left Zikri, his close aide Chhota Zahid and Zikri’s three-year-old son dead.

Their bodies were taken to the Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi and later to the Edhi morgue in Sohrab Goth, from where they were taken away by their families to their homes in Mauripur for their funerals.

An extra contingent of Rangers also reached the site of the shoot-out and cordoned off the area, while police and security officials conducted a thorough search to trace and arrest Zikri’s remaining aides.  

Cash reward

Sindh police chief IGP Dr Syed Kaleem Imam announced Rs500,000 as cash reward for the police party that conducted the operation in which Zikri and his aide were killed. The police chief commended City District SSP Samiullah Soomro and his team, announcing that they would be awarded with appreciation certificates as well as the monetary rewards.

IGP Imam said that his department would keep in touch with the hospital administration to ensure that the injured police officials receive the best medical treatment.