KARACHI, Sept 30: Thirteen people, including three members of a family and an Imambargah trustee, were shot dead in targeted attacks in the city on Monday, officials said.

They said that the trustee of an Imambargah and his driver were shot dead in a New Karachi locality in an attack apparently on sectarian grounds.

Hasan Ali, 35, was on his way to his Pakwan Centre in New Karachi’s Sector-13 in his chauffeur-driven car when four gunmen riding two motorcycles sprayed the vehicle with bullets and rode away.

Mr Ali and his driver, Mujeeb Rehman, 40, sustained multiple bullet wounds and died before any medical aid could be provided to them. The bodies were shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities.

“Ali Hasan was a trustee of Aal-i-Muhammad Imambargah in the area and his murder could be linked to sectarianism,” said Karachi Central SSP Amir Farooqi.

He said that a relative of the slain Mr Ali, who was also a trustee of the Imambargah, was killed in a sectarian attack in the same area around a year ago.

Man, two sons killed in Lyari

A man and his two young sons were shot dead by armed motorcyclists in Lyari in a suspected targeted attack on Monday morning, the police said.

They added that four gunmen riding two motorcycles attacked the three family members who as a matter of routine were selling cooked breakfast on pushcarts in Jhat Pat Market.

Kalakot SHO Saleem Marwat said the victims identified as Abdul Shakoor, 55, and his two sons, 24-year-old Zahid and 20-year-old Abid, sustained multiple bullet wounds in the attack. They were rushed to the Civil Hospital Karachi, where doctors declared them dead on arrival, he added.

The police officer said that the victims, residents of Oqal Bunga compound of Ranchhore Line, originally hailed from Bahawalnagar, Punjab.

“Investigators are probing mainly two possible motives for the attack,” said Lyari SP Shahnawaz.

He said the three men might have been targeted by criminal elements over the suspicion of their being police ‘informers’.

The other possible motive could be their ethnic identity, as people hailing from Punjab were being targeted in Balochistan also, he added.

The officer said the vendors had been selling cooked breakfast for the past 16 years in the same area.

Three found shot dead

Three young men were found shot dead in a car near Haroon Royal City, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Block-17, in the early hours of Monday, according to the Sharea Faisal police.

Wrapped in polythene bags, the corpses also bore torture marks, they said.

Shah Faisal SP Syed Ali Asif told Dawn that the three men, in their 30s, might have been kidnapped, subjected to torture before being gunned down.

He said each victim was hit by a single bullet in the head.

The senior officer said the car in which the bodies were found had been snatched in the vicinity on Sunday. “The car was snatched from Waqar Ahmed near Rabia City in Gulistan-i-Jauhar,” the police said.

They said the bodies were shifted to the Edhi morgue for want of identification after a post-mortem examination at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

Man gunned down outside KU

A young man was gunned down outside the University of Karachi on Monday morning, the Mobina Town police said.

They added that Saleem Rahat Bhatti, 40, was on his way from his residence in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Block-8, on his motorcycle to his office in a factory in SITE when suspects also riding a motorcycle attacked him on the main University Road. He sustained two bullet wounds and died. Mobina Town SHO Jamal Muhammad Leghari said circumstances suggested that the suspects had been chasing him and targeted him at a deserted place outside the university early morning.

He said the victim’s family had hinted at some personal enmity behind the murder but did not nominate anyone in the FIR.

Watchman killed in Sohrab Goth

A watchman was shot dead in a commercial area of Sohrab Goth, police said.

They added that Amir Khan, 45, was gunned down in Super Market. He sustained three gunshot wounds in his head.

The police said the victim was the watchman in the same market and originally hailed from Waziristan.

Killing in Korangi

A young man was gunned down in Korangi on Monday.

Police said that the bullet-riddled body of Haris Arif, 25, was found near the Coast Guard Chowrangi.

The corpse was shifted to the JPMC for a post-mortem examination.

Zaman Town SHO Sarfraz Gondal said a pistol was found on the body.

He said that the police believed that he was killed by his accomplice(s) over some dispute.

He was a resident of Landhi.

Trader shot dead in Kalri

A fish trader was shot dead in the Kalri area, police said.

They said that Iqbal Niazi, 50, was going on his motorcycle when gunmen targeted him near the old truck stand on Mauripur Road.

The police said that the victim was going to the Fisheries area when he was killed.