HYDERABAD, Nov 7: The death toll in the ongoing spate of terrorist attacks in Hyderabad rose to nine on the fifth day as one of the victims of what is being described as ‘targeted attacks’ succumbed to his wounds in the early hours of Wednesday.

Mustafa, son of Shaukat, a member of the Dawoodi Bohra community, was wounded in the Tuesday night attack by a gunman while the former was sitting in his hardware shop on Risala Road.

He was rushed to the Civil Hospital Hyderabad but due to his precarious condition he was shifted to Karachi, where he died.

Funeral prayers for Mustafa and Ali Asghar, who was killed in the same attack, were held in Hyderabad on Wednesday morning before they were laid to rest in the Bohra community graveyard.

A large number of Bohra community members and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) lawmakers attended the funeral.

The Saddar Bazaar, where many Bohra community members have their shops and other business concerns, remained closed in mourning. Police guards were deployed at the entry and exit points of the bazaar and coils of barbed wire were placed on roads to check movement of suspected vehicles and people.

No FIR has so far been registered in connection with the Tuesday night attack. The community was reportedly drafting an FIR of Saturday killing of its two other members after consulting Hatim, a third man wounded in the firing.

The FIR of three Ghausia Foundation (GF) members’ killing on Sunday night within the remit of the City police station is yet to be registered.

Apart from the three GF men and four Bohra community members, a former MQM taluka nazim was gunned down in the spate of terrorist attacks.

STP blames killings on govt

Sindh Taraqqi-pasand Party (STP) chairman Dr Qadir Magsi, condemning the acts of terrorism in Hyderabad, held the Sindh coalition government responsible for the killings.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, he alleged that MQM was involved in “recent terrorist activities”, and claimed that the party wanted to gain its control of urban areas of Sindh through the new local government law and to achieve this goal it was carrying out such activities to terrorize people.

“Terrorists have turned to Hyderabad after Karachi and the government has given them a free hand, leaving citizens at the mercy of killers,” he said.

Dr Magsi said that the government had failed to protect the life and property of citizens, adding that the STP had already worked out a 15-point formula for restoring peace across Sindh.

He demanded an end to the ongoing killings in the province and arrest of the terrorists involved in the bloodshed.

Meanwhile, the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) President Goharullah and senior vice-president Turab Ali Khoja in a statement condemned targeted killings in the city, and described the terrorist attacks as a conspiracy to wreck peace in Hyderabad after Karachi.

They expressed concerned over the phenomenon in which Bohra community members were being targeted, and urged the law-enforcement agencies to take measures for the security of all citizens and ensure complete peace during Muharram. They also demanded immediate arrest of culprits.

They said that a meeting of all trade associations would be held on Nov 10 to discuss the law and order in the city.