Renowned religious scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani Friday survived an assassination attempt as unidentified gunmen opened fire on two vehicles near Karachi’s NIPA Chowrangi, killing two.
Mufti Usmani’s two guards, one a Sindh police official and the other belonging to a private company, were killed in the targeted attack. The vehicles, which belonged to Darul Uloom Korangi, were travelling together and were fired at by the assailants on motorcycles.
Mufti Usmani told a private TV channel after the attack that he was traveling with his wife and two grandsons, who remained unhurt. He further said the motorcyclists fired from the back at the vehicle and then went forward and again fired.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Gulshan Tahir Noorani dismissed earlier reports regarding two separate incidents of firing and said, “It is only one incident of firing from the same spot on two vehicles.” “Mufti Taqi Usmani was travelling in a black Honda Civic along with his family. The second car with his driver and guard was a Toyota Corolla. The cars were travelling together and were fired on by the motorcyclists near the ramp which goes from Aladdin Park to NIPA Chowrangi,” the SP said. “First, Maulana Taqi Usmani’s car was fired on in which his guard, a Sindh police official, and driver were shot. The driver took the car straight to Liaquat National Hospital. The second car crashed at NIPA Chowrangi in which Sanobar Khan was martyred and the driver Amir Shahab was injured,” he added.
‘Security guard Sanober Khan was brought to the hospital dead. The second Amir Shahab is critically wounded and is on ventilator,” Jinnah Hospital spokesperson Dr Seemi Jamali said.
“Investigations are underway. a Sindh police officer embraced martyrdom while protecting Maulana Sb,” IG Sindh Kaleem Imam said.
The police official who was guarding Mufti Usmani has been identified as Muhammad Farooq.
Officials from the crime unit and investigative teams reached the site of the incident and gathered evidence. Nine bullets of 9mm pistol were found at the site, police said.
“As per initial reports, four terrorists on two motorcycles fired at the cars,” Counter-Terrorism Department in-charge Raja Umar Khattab said. “Mufti Usmani was targeted and his cars were fired at after recce,” he added.
Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the assassination attempt and expressed sorrow over the killing of his guards in the targeted attack. “The attack on an esteemed figure like Mufti Taqi Usmani is a conspiracy,” he said, vowing to make every possible effort to expose the conspiracy.
“Maulana Taqi Usmani had been receiving threats for some time. He had reported that he had been receiving threats and his security had been increased. Hopefully we will arrest the suspects by this evening,” Governor Sindh Imran Ismail told a private TV channel.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took notice of the incident and sought a report from Additional IG Karachi.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif said the attack on a renowned religious figure and an academic like Mufti Usmani was a ‘moment of concern’.
Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman said religious scholars were being targeted in the country as part of a ‘conspiracy’.
Former president Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also condemned the incident and called for bringing the perpetrators to justice.
Published in Daily Times, March 23rd 2019.
