Former MQM MNA Ali Raza Abidi shot dead in Karachi

KARACHI: Unidentified armed men attacked Ali Raza Abidi, a former MNA and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader, in the Defence area on Tuesday evening and shot him dead. The incident took place outside Abidi's residence situated at Khayaban-e-Ghazi, Phase V, DHA. Sources said Abidi had returned home and dismounted his vehicle when he was fired upon by unidentified men. The injured Abidi was immediately taken to the PNS Shifa where he succumbed to his injuries. The deceased had received bullet wounds to his head and neck, which became the cause of his death. Witnesses said the firing was so sudden that they couldn’t see the attackers. The guards at nearby houses had also attempted to respond but in vain as the attackers disappeared. The attackers apparently used a 30 bore pistol in the offence and the police present at the scene of crime collected the spent bullet shells that were taken to the forensic division of the Sindh Police for examination.

Talking to The News, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), South Range, Jawed Alam Odho, said that acting on information, the police mobiles immediately rushed to the spot and cordoned off the scene of crime. He said a directive had been issued to station house officers for maximum checking at the entry and exit points of DHA. DIG Odho said that it was too early to say whether the accused were on motorcycles or in a vehicle. They were checking the availability of CCTV cameras installed in the area for footage, he said.

DIG Odho further said that apparently the attack seemed to be a target killing though other aspects shall also be investigated. The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Sindh, Dr Kaleem Imam, has taken notice of the attack and sought a detailed report from DIG Jawed Alam Odho. Further investigations are underway.

Zubair Ashraf adds: The violent past of the city returned, haunting it again when on Tuesday evening, Ali Raza Abidi, a former MQM-Pakistan leader, was shot dead in a gun attack outside his residence in the DHA, just two days after two workers of the Pak Sarzameen Party were killed in a similar fashion in Gulbahar area.

Abidi, 40, was politically inactive since he left the MQM-P in September. However, he made his presence felt in the arena, critically, through his Twitter account: @abidifactor. When resigning, he had told the scribe that besides differences with the party leadership, there were many issues that had been accumulating and were hurting his life and career. “I will take some time off now,” he had last said.

Though he came into the limelight in 2013, his political career started in 1988 when he started as a student activist with the All Pakistan Mohajir Students Organization at the SM College. Born to a military officer-turned-politician, he set aside his affiliation with the group until 2008 when he came back to set-up a social media wing of the MQM.

The party awarded him a ticket from NA-251 in the 2013 general election. He was elected. Five years later, the party, despite differences and in a crucial situation, awarded him a ticket again and fielded him against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan in NA-243. He lost by a margin of over 60,000 votes. Yet he was a favorite candidate and expected to be nominated again in the by-polls in the constituency. The party chose someone else instead.

“The leadership has shown me that I am not wanted in the party,” he had said then, exhibiting his usual like of bluntness to say things as he perceived. Besides being a considerably popular political figure, he was a successful restaurateur too. He ran an eatery by the name Briyani Of The Seas (BOTS) in the Clifton neighborhood.

Speaking after the removal of the party head, he in an interview with The News had said that MQM-P had revived itself and emerged as a workers’ party after August 22, 2016. “Now a single person or a particular group is not entitled to make decisions for the party. We have to set aside emotions and sentiments and look at things practically.”

Abidi was a social animal. He would meet people from all ages and backgrounds at his restaurant and would stay late in those gatherings. Politicians, social activists, media personalities, journalists, businesspersons could be seen with him at the place, talking of politics and entertainment.

Being an MNA, he was oriented towards the party workers, mostly activists from APSMO. They would come to him to seek funds for their activities at colleges and varsities. He would also help those workers caught in a penal situation and in need of legal aid. The activists recalled Abidi as a "mischievous angel."