KARACHI, April 5: An activist of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement was gunned down in Orangi Town early Friday morning, police said.

They added that the incident took place in Sector 8½ in Gabol Colony near Gabol Park where armed men riding a motorcycle opened fire on Mohammad Dilawar Khan Yousafzai, 35.

The victim died on the spot.

The police shifted the body to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities. Hospital sources said that the victim had been hit by eight bullets.

Following the killing, tension gripped the locality leading to immediate closure of commercial activities.

The victim was an active member of Orangi Town’s MQM Unit 122, according to the area police.

He was a resident of Sector 13-G, Orangi Town, and an employee of the Sindh agriculture department, the police said.

He was targeted as he stepped out of Ghausia Masjid in Gabol Colony after offering Friday prayers.

The police said that the victim had been released from jail over a year ago. He was still wanted to police in several criminal cases.

The police said that the victim was a veteran party worker who was active during the 1990s also. After learning about the killing, a large number of party workers reached the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where Mr Yousafzai’s body had been taken to.

The MQM coordination committee, meanwhile, condemned the killing of Mr Yousafzai. The committee said the victim was a worker of Qasba Colony’s Aligarh Sector 122-B of the party. The MQM statement added that the killing was part of a conspiracy to foment unrest in the city before the upcoming general elections.