KARACHI, March 9: Five people, including a political activist, were gunned down on Wednesday in separate incidents of firing in Orangi Town, which remained the most volatile part of the city amid a fresh wave of targeted killings, police and party sources said. As Qasba Colony and other parts of Orangi Town remained tense on a second consecutive day following the murder of Pakhtun Students Federation activist Imran Afridi on Tuesday night, police authorities saw the killings mainly on ethnic grounds and planned to meet community leaders on Thursday in an attempt to stem the violence.

In the early hours of Wednesday, 37-year-old activist of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Mushtaq Kutchi was killed in Bheempura.

“Mushtaq was supervising the repairing of a transformer outside his residential complex, Mughal Compound, when four men on two motorbikes emerged and two of them fired at him,” said Eidgah SHO Inspector Nawaz Gondal.

The incident caused panic and people ran for safety. As the armed riders sped away, people returned to the spot only to find Mushtaq lying dead in a pool of blood, the inspector said quoting witness accounts.

Father of four, Mushtaq was an employee of the Karachi Electric Supply Company.

“The body was handed over to the family after medico-legal formalities,” the inspector said, adding that the victim had been hit by eight bullets.

He showed unawareness about the motive and people behind the incident.

An MQM spokesman, meanwhile, said the victim was their party activist and associated with the old city areas unit of the party’s organisational structure.

Tension in the locality increased further when residents along with some MQM activists while taking the body home after the medico-legal formalities came under an armed attack. “The firing left three youngsters wounded,” said a police official.

He said all the three were taken to the civil hospital. “Two of them have been identified as Riaz and Jibran, residents of the same area,” the official said.

Tension persisted even after sunrise that almost brought all commercial activities to a standstill.

In the afternoon, two young brothers were attacked at their shop near Qasba Colony in Sector 5-A of Orangi Town, police said.

Quoting witness accounts, an official of the Pirabad police station said: “Two men riding a motorbike stopped outside Zahid General Store and opened fire on the youngsters before speeding away.” Both the young brothers suffered gunshot wounds in the attack on their shop, the official said.

He said 24-year-old Mohammad Ali and his brother, Mohammad Sajid, were shifted to the Qatar Hospital, where the former died during treatment.

The police ruled out the possibility of a robbery attempt behind the firing. They said the armed men did not even enter the shop and sped away after the firing without collecting any valuables. “The victim brothers were residents of the same area. It seemed premeditated attempts on their lives,” the official said.

Just a couple of hours later armed men riding a motorcycle opened fire on two roadside vendors in the neighbouring Qaddafi Chowk in Orangi Town No 1.

The firing left 24-year-old naswar seller, Zia-ur-Rehman, and food vendor, 32-year-old Mohammad Yaqoob, dead on the spot, said SP of Orangi Town Khurram Waris.

He said: “Rahman was a resident of Aligarh area and Yaqoob, who sold Haleem for a livelihood, lived in Metroville.” He added that both had been running their businesses in the area for several years.

He was of the opinion that the armed attacks were part of a ‘retaliation and reaction’ of the previous night killing of a political worker that was followed by an assault on a bus leaving another person dead.

“Miscreants and armed men take advantage of minor loopholes and hit their targets. The police force backed by Rangers personnel has been asked to stay alert and enhance their patrolling in the affected pockets,” the SP said.

Despite the police claims that the security had been beefed up in the affected areas, another targeted killing was carried out in Farid Colony of Orangi Town No 10 late Wednesday night.

Hyder Khan, in his mid 30s, was shot dead near his home by armed men on a motorbike.

“The attackers, both wearing helmets, took a few seconds to execute their job,” said an official at the Mominananad police station. He said the victim suffered two gunshot wounds.

The official said the body was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities.Speaking to Dawn, the police authorities said they believed that the killings were carried out mainly on ‘ethnic grounds’. The law-enforcers planned to sit with the community leaders on Thursday in an attempt to stem the violence, a senior police officer said.

“As it seems, so far the people were targeted on ethnic grounds and the area is a history of such conflicts,” said DIG (west) Sultan Khawaja. “We have devised a two-pronged strategy — police force has been beefed up in the affected parts of the town and we along with senior Rangers officials will meet the leaders of peace committee in the area on Thursday,” he said. He added that the move helped capping the menace with the support of community leaders earlier in the wave of violence in January.

“This is the best solution available with us,” the DIG said, when questioned about the effectiveness of the committees amid frequent incidents of the targeted killings on ethnic ground. “At least it brings the area leadership onboard to face the situation and convey the same message to their people.”