MQM MPA Raza Haider assassinated in Karachi

KARACHI: Raza Haider, an MQM leader and member Sindh Assembly, and his guard were shot dead here at a mosque in Nazimabad on Monday, Geo News reported. Unknown armed motorcyclists fired shots at Raza Haider as well as his guard when he was preparing to attend a funeral prayer at a mosque in Nazimabad Block No.2. Raza Haider succumbed to his wounds died when he was being rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. The guard died later while receiving medical aid at the hospital. The MQM leader was elected an MPA from PS-94 Karachi 6. Separate incidents of firing were reported in different parts of the city shortly after the fatal attack on MQM leader while several vehicles were set on fire in different parts of the metropolis. The incident sent a wave of fear and panic across the metropolis, as shopkeepers pulled down their shutters in view of any violent reaction by enraged people. Interior Minister Rehman Malik condemned the incident, urging the people to remain calm. He termed the targeted killings in Karachi as a ‘latest formula’ being used to destabilize the country. Rehman Malik urged MQM leaders to wait for investigation and called upon the people to observe restraint. He said he would soon hold a meeting with MQM leaders. MQM leaders Babar Ghauri and Haider Abbas Rizvi expressed profound grief on the tragic incident. “It would be difficult to put a cap on the chapter opened (today),” Babar Ghauri asserted.