13 killed in firing in Pakistan's Karachi

At least 13 people were killed and several others injured in separate incidents of target-killing and police encounter in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi on Tuesday, police said. On Tuesday evening, two unknown armed men riding a motorbike opened fire at the car of Director Education Karachi Shamim Khan in Hyderabad Colony of the city. Khan was rushed to a private clinic where he succumbed to injuries. Police said, Khan received five bullets in head and chest and the incident was a part of target killing. In a separate incident at evening, a man was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Layari area. The attackers fled from the scene after the attack and the killed man has not been identified yet. In the afternoon, a political activist of the leading Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) was shot down by unknown gunmen in Shahrah-e- Noor Jahan area of Karachi. Police said that the attack was political motivated. In another incident in the afternoon, an Assistant Sub- Inspector was shot dead in the firing by unidentified armed men in North Nazimabad area, raising the police's death toll to 68 during the current year in Karachi. Two target-killing suspects were killed in the Sohrab Goth area. Police said that they carried out a search operation in the area after receiving a tip-off by intelligence agencies during which two miscreants clashed with them. One of the suspects was killed right on the spot while the other died later at hospital. Another man was shot dead in unidentified gunmen's firing on a car in New Town on Tuesday morning. Three bodies with eminent marks of torture and gunfire were found in gunny bags from Crown Cinema, Mauripur Road of the metropolis. Police said that the killed people were kidnapped and later killed. In a pre-dawn raid by police and Citizen Police Liaison Committee near Mauripur area, three kidnappers were killed and an abducted trader was released. Two policemen were also injured in the encounter. Additional number of police and rangers has been reportedly deployed in the city to control the law and order situation. Police apprehended eight suspected miscreants and claimed to recover arms and ammunition from their custody. Karachi, the business hub of Pakistan, is home to 21 million people of different religions, sects, political parties and ethnicities. According to police, most of the target killings in the city are either political or religious motivated. Some of the people are also killed by extortion-mafia. The involvement of Taliban in deterioration of the law and order situation of the city cannot also be ruled out. The Karachi police have repeatedly claimed to arrest Taliban militants from the city. Earlier last week, Senior Superintendent of Crime Investigating Department Sindh, Fayyaz Khan claimed to have apprehended two alleged members of Pakistan Taliban in two separate raids in the metropolis.