KARACHI: Two men stated to be “missing” workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London and the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (Arisar group) were found shot dead in the city, police, the parties and relatives of the dead said on Wednesday.

Their bodies bearing bullet marks were found at deserted places on the outskirts of the metropolis on Tuesday.

Sachal SHO Safdar Abbasi said the body of a man was found in bushes off the Superhighway near Jamali Bridge. The victim was identified as Asif Husain Siddiqui, 50. He had received two bullets in the head. However, no spent bullet casing was found at the crime scene, added the SHO.

The police registered the murder case against unknown suspects on a complaint of the victim’s brother, Atif. The officer said that the complainant in his application before the police did not say that his brother had been missing.

The MQM-L in a statement alleged that Asif, alias Pasha, was a senior worker of the party’s Defence/Clifton sector who was allegedly taken away by law enforcers on Feb 22, 2019. The party termed it an act of “extrajudicial killing”.

A section of the electronic media reported that Asif Siddiqui was allegedly wanted by law enforcers in terrorism and murder cases. He was also allegedly involved in a deadly armed attack on a Pak Sarzameen Party office in Nazimabad.

Separately, the body of a man identified as Niaz Lashari, 32, with a bullet wound in the head was found near Samandari Baba mazaar, off a road linking the Superhighway with the National Highway.

Athar Lashari told the media that his brother had become a victim of “enforced disappearances” twice. He was allegedly taken away by plain clothes men from his residence in the Pipri area of Malir on April 16, 2018. The brother recalled that the Hyderabad police had shown arrest of Niaz in terrorism cases. He had allegedly been missing after attending an antiterrorism court hearing in Hyderabad on Jan 10, 2019.

The victim’s mother had also filed a petition before the Sindh High Court bench in Hyderabad, which was pending.

The deceased was associated with the recently banned JSQM (Arisar).

Man shot dead

A 30-year-old man, Abdul Latif, was shot dead in the Manghopir area on Wednesday, police said.

They added that he was killed inside his home in Mastani Mohalla, allegedly by a relative, Habibullah, over some personal enmity.

The suspect escaped after committing the crime.

The body was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital to fulfil legal formalities.

Infant electrocuted

A two-year-old girl died when she suffered electric shock inside a home in Shanti Nagar area of Ittehad Town on Wednesday, the Edhi Foundation spokesperson said.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2020