HYDERABAD, Jan 23: Fear and sectarian tension kept the entire city closed on Wednesday with parts of Hyderabad and Qasimabad continuing to reverberate with intermittent gunfire in the wake of Tuesday evening death of a religious activist in a firing incident.

The activist, Adnan Sheikh, was killed in an incident of firing near Madressat-ul-Binnat, within the jurisdiction of the Sakhi Pir police station.

A large number of Ahle Sunnat Wal-Jamaat (ASWJ) activists and supporters, besides his relatives and friends, attended his funeral on Wednesday.

The funeral procession passed through different areas including Tilak Incline, Kohinoor Chowk and Pucca Qilla as mourners walked up to seven kilometres to reach the Tando Yousuf graveyard, where the deceased was buried.

All business, commercial, trade and educational activities remained suspended across the city, which remained in the grip of tension throughout the day.

Earlier in the morning, shopkeepers tried to open their businesses but firing into the air forced them to pull down shutters. Reports of firing were received from Gharibabad (near Pathan Colony), Liaquat Colony, Latifabad Unit 7 and many other localities of the city. All roads and streets wore a deserted look amid fear and panic.

Meanwhile, the Sakhi Pir police registered an FIR of the murder of Adnan Sheikh, son of Maqsood Sheikh, against Hyder Vighio, Madad Ali and Shahid Baladi on a complaint of Mohammad Adeel.

It was stated that the victim, along with other ASWJ activists, was among the protesters who were trying to enforce a shutdown against an incident of alleged sacrilege in Chandio Goth and sustained fatal bullet wounds during the firing that broke out in the Sakhi Pir police station area.

An FIR of the alleged sacrilege was also registered at the Bhitai Nagar police station on Tuesday night against Imtiaz, Shakeel, Mushtaq, Karam, Ayaz, Fayyaz and Irfan — all members of the Chandio community — on a complaint of Fakhar Zaman.

ASWJ leaders Maulana Allah Wasaya, Maulana Abdul Samad Hyder and others told a press conference on Wednesday that the district administration had been told that if the suspects nominated in the murder case and Chandio Goth incident were not arrested within two days, they would decide a future course of action.

They also demanded suspension of the Bhitai Nagar SHO and the Qasimabad DSP.

The ASWJ leaders announced that they would hold a rally, which they named as ‘Tahffuz-i-namoos-i-risalat’ on Friday.

Our Mirpurkhas correspondent adds: Several hundred ASWJ activists and supporters held a demonstration on M.A. Jinnah Road on Wednesday at the Municipal Shopping Centre in protest against the incident of sacrilege and killing of the ASWJ activist in Hyderabad.

The road remained blocked for several hours while a strong contingent of police remained at hand to avert any untoward incident.

Local ASWJ leader Hafiz Ataullah Haidery spoke to the protesters and demanded arrest of the killers of the activist and those involved in the sacrilege.

Hafiz Abdul Rasheed, Ghulam Muhammad Mahar, Asadullah Nohani and others also spoke.