Two people were shot dead in Karachi’s Machhar Colony during a “violent clash” between two groups over a land dispute on Monday evening, police said.
While police insisted that the shooting was the result of a land dispute, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) alleged that its workers were targeted by “PPP terrorists”.
South Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Syed Asad Raza said the clash erupted between the two groups near the Umer Bin Khattab mosque. As a result, 55-year-old Siraj alias Siraji and Abdul alias Abdu were gunned down.
“Both the victims were Bengalis,” he said. Raza said that according to the preliminary investigation, the shooting was the result of an enmity between “Bengalis and Pakhtuns” over a property dispute.
The DIG said the main suspect, Nisar Pathan, and his brother had been arrested. He said that the rifle and pistol used in the shooting had also been seized.
Police contingents, led by the Keamari division assistant superintendent, rushed to the spot and encircled the locality, the senior officer said. He added that a search operation had been launched to arrest the remaining suspects.
The DIG ruled out any “political reason” behind the shooting, reiterating that the issue was over a land dispute between Siraj and Nisar which took an untoward turn.
Meanwhile, MQM-P Deputy Convener Anis Kaimkhani disputed the police official’s claim and alleged that PPP workers had attacked the party’s workers while they were busy campaigning for the upcoming general election.
In a statement, he said MQM-P candidates and workers were injured when “PPP terrorists opened fire on our local leaders and workers under the leadership of the local officials”.
Kaimkhani alleged that Nisar was a PPP officeholder and the coordinator of former health minister Abdul Qadir Patel.
“During the attack, two MQM-P workers were injured,” he said, alleging that “three people had died”. He did not identify the deceased.
“The injured workers have been moved to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital,” he added.