KARACHI, Oct 10: At least six persons, including a policeman and a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) activist, were shot dead in different parts of the city on Thursday that also witnessed roadside dumping of at least three bodies, officials said.

The policeman was gunned down in North Nazimabad while he was riding home, situated in Orangi Town, after duty hours, officials said.

He was hit by two bullets in the head and died on the spot.

“Thirty-four-year-old constable Murshid Alam was intercepted by four men riding two motorbikes near Qalandria Chowk,” said Shahrah-i-Noor Jehan SHO Inspector Raja Tariq while quoting eyewitness accounts. “The attackers used 9mm pistol and sped away after firing at the police official. His body has been handed over to the family after medico-legal formalities at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.”

He said the victim was posted at the Khawaja Ajmair Nagri police headquarters. “The murder seemed to be part of the ongoing wave of policemen’s killing,” he said. He was the 64th police official killed in the city this year.

Earlier, a PPP worker was killed in a targeted attack near a roadside tea stall in North Nazimabad, police said.

Mohamamd Saleem Lasi, in his late 20s, was having tea with his elder brother and nephew on the greenbelt area between two roads in block L when three armed men riding a motorbike pulled up there and fired at him, the police added.

“He was hit by three bullets each in the chest, shoulder and abdomen and died on the spot,” said an official at the Taimuria police station.

“He was an area resident and had come there with his elder brother and nephew during scheduled load-shedding hours in the area. The murder seemed to be politically motivated.”

Karachi PPP central president Sohail Abidi condemned the incident and said the victim was an active party worker, associated with the PS-101 of the party organisational structure.

“At a time when the PPP leadership both in the province and national level is making efforts for reviving peace mainly in Karachi the miscreants are targeting PPP workers just to provoke the ruling party and exploit the vulnerable situation,” he said.

ANP man hurt, passerby killed In Gulshan-i-Iqbal, a senior Awami National Party (ANP) worker was wounded and a passerby was killed in a drive-by shooting, police said.

The police added that four men riding two motorbikes fired shots at 40-year-old Shah Kalam while he was stepping out of his apartment building on Abul Hasan Ispahani Road.

“The firing left him badly wounded and also hit the passerby, Mohammad Rafiq,” said Sachal SHO Azhar Ali Iqbal.

Both were shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where Rafiq died during treatment, the police said.

The SHO believed that it was a targeted attack. “Shah Kalam was the target in the attack carried out with 9mm and 30-bore pistols,” he said.

Three bodies found The bodies of two friends who went missing a couple of days back were spotted along the Lyari River in the early hours of Wednesday, the police said.

Both victims, 31-year-old Ali Mustafa and 33-year-old Abdul Samad, were residents of Kharadar, the officials added.

Ali Mustafa was found shot dead in the Miran Naka area along the Lyari River, said an official at the Shershah police station.

The body was shifted to the Civil Hospital Karachi.

Shortly afterwards, another body stuffed in a gunny bag was found on a road leading to Miran Naka within the remit of the Site-B police station.

The victim was later identified as Abdul Samad. He was stabbed with his throat slit, said an official at the SITE-B police station.

“We have reason to believe that the two friends were kidnapped and killed by the same group that abandoned their bodies some distance apart.”

As the two bodies reached their residences, tension gripped the old city areas that caused markets closure. Another young man was found shot dead near Hawkesbay, police said.

“With the help of an identity card found in his pocket, the victim was identified as 27-year-old Abdul Waleed, a resident of Turbat,” said Mauripur SHO Inspector Shafiq Tanoli.

But the police remained clueless about the motive for the murder. “It’s not yet clear as to why he was killed and who was behind the incident,” the inspector said.

The body was shifted to the Edhi morgue after medico-legal formalities.

The police said they were tracing his family.

Man killed in Napier In Napier, a gun attack on a roadside tea stall left one man dead and five others wounded, police said.

An official at the Napier police station said that Pervez Shabbir, 30, was killed when armed men riding a motorbike opened fire on the tea stall.

“In the firing, Mohammad Sohail, Karam Ali, Amir Aslam, Zubair Ahmed and Atif Rauf were wounded. All of them were rushed to the Civil Hospital Karachi where they were being provided treatment,” the official said.

Trader shot dead in Malir A 40-year-old hosiery shop owner was shot dead at his workplace in the Azeempura area of Malir, police said.

They added that two men riding a motorbike pulled up at the shop of Mohammad Akbar, one of them entered the facility, fired multiple shots at the owner and sped away along with his accomplice.

“The victim sustained three gunshot wounds and died on the spot,” said Al-Falah SHO Inspector Nawaz Gondal.

“The victim originally hailed from Azad Kashmir and was father of six. The incident seemed to be linked with some personal issues,” the inspector said.

‘Bandit’ killed A suspected bandit was killed allegedly by a private security guard in Landhi, police said.

The officials added that two armed bandits riding a motorbike intercepted a bread supplier’s van in Sector 2-B of Landhi No 3, snatched over Rs2,000 in cash and cellphones from three men travelling in the van.

“As they tried to escape, area people shouted for help,” said Landhi SHO Inspector Khalid Nadim Baig. “A few youngsters tried to approach but the bandits fired shots at them. The private security guard of the van, who managed to keep his pistol intact, pulled out his gun and fired shots at the fleeing bandits leaving one of them wounded.”

The wounded robber fell down from the bike and the other was overpowered by the youngsters. Both were given a hiding by a charged mob before the police intervened.

“The police shifted the two men to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where the wounded bandit died during treatment,” said the SHO.

“The deceased was later identified as Nadim Deen Mohammad and his injured accomplice as Mahmood. We have also seized two TT pistols found in their possession.”

The officer said the private guard, who fired at the bandits, had a licensed pistol in the name of his company. The police after due interrogation and counterchecking of all relevant documents released the private guard, the SHO added.