An intense wave of tension on Tuesday gripped many parts of the city, following the funeral of three MQM workers and a Shiite prayer leader. According to eye-witnesses, all commercial and social activities were suspended in North Karachi, Ancholi, Sharah-e-Pakistan and other areas where miscreants took to streets and resorted to heavy firing in the air.
The funeral prayers of three MQM activists namely Syed Hassan Raza, Atif Usmani and Mohammad Ijtabah, who were found shot dead at Mirza Adam Khan Road, Lyari late Monday were offered at Sir Syed Ground, North Karachi. Scores of MQM workers including Dr Sagheer Ahmed, Khwaja Izhar-ul-Hassan Wassay Jalil and Hammad Siddiqui attended the funeral. The enraged workers of MQM chanted slogans against Lyari gangsters and held them responsible for the killings. Later, the MQM workers were laid to rest at Mohammad Shah Graveyard. Police said the deceased Hassan was employed in Water Board while Atif and Ijtabah were in private service.
An FIR 147/12 was registered on the complaint of Hassan's younger brother Javed against unidentified persons. Meanwhile, the law enforcement agencies claimed to have arrested some 12 suspects from Lyari in connection with said killings. Similarly, the funeral prayers of Maulana Ghulam Muhammad Amini, prayer leader of Masjid Noor-e-Eman who was killed at Nazimabad No 3 on Monday, were offered at Rizvia Imambargah. Following the funeral procession, all business activities were suspended in Nazimabad, Rizvia, Liaquatabad, Sharah-e-Pakistan and Ancholi.
Later, Maulana Amini was buried at Wadi Hussain graveyard. The protesters, who set three bikes ablaze on Sharah-e-Pakistan to vent their anger over Amini's killing, demanded of the government to take responsible persons to task. Meanwhile, the LEAs, who were deployed at the sensitive places of Sharah-e-Pakistan, claimed to have taken three miscreants into custody.