KARACHI, July 7: Three young workers of the Ahl-i-Sunnat Wal Jamaat, two of them brothers, were shot dead in an attack on their auto-mechanic shop in Surjani Town on Saturday that also left a man wounded in what appeared to be part of the ongoing sectarian killings, police and ASWJ sources said.

The area police said some four armed men on two motorbikes pulled up outside Hafiz Autos in Sector 7-A and two of them fired shots at the young men who were busy in their routine work. The firing sparked panic in the congested locality.

“After the guns fell silent, the people found four young men lying badly wounded in and outside Hafiz Autos,” said Inspector Shabbir Hussain, the SHO of the Surjani Town police station. “All the four wounded were later moved to hospital, but before reaching any health facility, three of them — Waqas, Hamza and Saad — died from the wounds.”

He said the attackers had used 9mm and 30-bore pistols and the investigators found more than 15 casings of spent bullets at the crime-scene.

Hamza and Saad were brothers and Waqas worked at their shop, he said, adding that all victims were in their middle and late 20s, who had been running the shop for over a decade.

“Wounded Talha has been shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where he is also said to be in a critical condition,” he added.

A spokesman for the ASWJ condemned the incident and accused the government and the city’s security administration of being biased against the party.

“We keep conveying our concerns about the security of our workers and leaders to police authorities and senior government officials, but no step has been taken in this regard,” he said. “More than a dozen ASWJ workers have fallen prey to targeted killing in Karachi alone in less than a month, which shows the height of threat to our people, but not a single killer has been arrested by the police despite assurances.”

Transporter, trader gunned down

A transporter and a trader were also gunned down in separate parts of the city on Saturday, police said.

They said armed men attacked a van near the Dakkhana traffic intersection in Liaquatabad early in the morning when it was headed to the new Sabzi Mandi off the Superhighway.

“Two men on a motorbike were seen firing at the van,” said Inspector Ejaz Qaimkhani, SHO of the Liaquatabad police station, quoting eyewitnesses. “There were more than a dozen passengers in the van. Only the driver, identified as 42-year-old Muslim Khan, sustained a fatal bullet wound.”

He said the victim was a resident of Karnaal Basti in Pir Bukhari Colony. He ran his van between old and new wholesale vegetable markets for traders. The police suspected personal enmity behind the incident.

“We have talked to the family, who accuse a group of people of involvement in the firing. The two sides have some old dispute, including some monetary issue,” added the SHO.

In Gulistan-i-Jauhar, the owner of a juice centre was found shot dead near his home. The area police said 35-year-old Ali Madad was found shot dead near Kamran Chowrangi early in the morning.

“The victim was at home when he received a phone call at midnight,” said Inspector Kanson Dean, SHO of the Gulistan-i-Jauhar police station.

“He left home in his car telling the family that he was going to see a friend. After an hour when the family tried to contact him, his cellphone was switched off and after sunrise his body was found abandoned near his home bearing two bullet wounds.”

He said the victim ran a juice centre on the main Sharea Faisal and his murder appeared to be the result of some personal enmity though the family denied the victim had any known enemy.