KARACHI, May 24: The first information report of the PML-N leader Tariq Khan’s murder was delayed by his friends, who said an FIR would be lodged after consultation with the central leadership of the party, police said on Saturday.

The deceased’s father had come to the police station for the registration of the report in the early hours, but some party workers also arrived there and took him away, saying that the FIR would be lodged after consultations with the party leadership, a senior police officer told Dawn.

“It seems that they want to nominate someone in the FIR. That’s why they are delaying its registration,” said a senior police officer, wishing not to be named.

Tariq Khan was gunned down on Friday night at the Shaheed-i-Millat Road-Khalid Bin Waleed Road signal. He was driving his jeep alone when two persons on a motorcycle opened fire at him, killing him on the spot, police said. The victim suffered multiple bullet wounds.

Meanwhile, a law and order situation was created by protesters at Quaidabad and Dawood Chowrangi when they pelted passing vehicles with stones.

At Quaidabad protesters tried to set on fire a Pakistan Steel Mills bus. However, police reached the spot and drove the protesters away.

Friends and family of the slain leader took away the body from the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre on Friday night and did not allow legal formalities to be carried out. However, in the early morning the police surgeon requested the family for a postmortem examination. Subsequently, the body was brought back to the JPMC and Tariq Khan’s postmortem was carried out, Police Surgeon Dr Bashir Shaikh told Dawn.

Sindh IG Dr Shoaib Suddle has formed three investigation teams headed by DIG (Investigation) Ghulam Qadir Thebo, DIG (East) A.D. Khawaja and DIG (CID) Saud Ahmed Mirza.

The three investigation teams started their task following the incident. Capital City Police Chief Sultan Salahuddin Babar Khattak along with the three DIGs and other investigators visited the office of the DIG (East) and held a meeting there. Later, they inspected Tariq Khan’s vehicle and examined the crime scene by placing the vehicle at the very place where the attack had taken place. The investigators examined the directions and angles of the shooting.

A controversy over the jurisdiction of the crime scene emerged soon after the incident. The crime scene occurred at the junction of the New Town and Ferozabad police stations thus forming the border line between Gulshan and Jamshed towns.

A police officer said the apartment buildings fell in the jurisdiction of Gulshan town but the service road along them fell in the Jamshad town police limits. However, finally it was decided that an FIR would be registered at the New Town police station. The IG has already announced a cash reward of Rs1 million for persons providing information leading to the identification of the suspects in the case.

Meanwhile, Tariq Khan’s body was brought from his home in F. B Area to the Milk Plant graveyard on Sir Shah Suleiman Road. His funeral prayer was held on the road in front of the graveyard.

Traffic coming from the Civic Centre to Liaquatabad was diverted away by the traffic police. Police had made special arrangements for the funeral and walkthrough gates were installed at the entrance to the graveyard.