Shia leader gunned down in Ancholi target killing

In less than 10 days of the Peshawar bombing, a major sectarian killing took place in Karachi on Saturday night where Syed Salman Haider Rizvi, general secretary of the Pasban-e-Aza and former president of the Masjid Khair-ul-Amal, was shot dead in target killing in the Ancholi area.

The tragic incident took place outside Rizvi’s residence near the Masjid Khair-ul-Amal in Ancholi Society within the jurisdiction of the Samanabad police station. Rizvi, 43, was the son of the late SM Haider, prominent Shia leader and founder of the Pasban-e-Aza.

Apart from the Pasban-e-Aza, the slain activist was also the general secretary of the Ziyarat Karwan Operator.

After the firing, he was seriously injured and taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead. Quoting the initial investigations, police said Rizvi was shot at least three times by at least two armed men on a motorcycle.

“Two armed men riding a 125 motorcycle were already following him,” said Samanabad SHO Waqar Qaiser while talking to The News. “As soon as he stopped his Premio car near his residence, the armed motorcyclists fired multiple shots at him.”

Police also seized three empty shells of a 9mm pistol from the crime scene. The empty shells would be sent to the forensic division of the Sindh police for ballistics cross-matching, the SHO said.

The officer added that the victim was killed in an act of target killing. There was no CCTV camera installed at the place where the firing took place. Police said they were looking for CCTV footage showing the route which the victim and the killers used.

The Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) condemned the incident. In a statement issued shortly after the incident, the MWM spokesperson confirmed the death of Rizvi in a targeted attack, saying that the killing was part of the conspiracy to disturb law and order of the city.

The MWM spokesperson also criticised the law enforcement agencies saying that the killing showed their unsatisfactory performance.

Shops were closed as tension prevailed in the area following the incident. A heavy contingent of the law enforcers, including police and the Rangers, was also deployed in the area to avoid any untoward incident.