Mukarram Naeem Ahmed Gondal, president of Jamaat Ahmadiyya’s Orangi Town chapter, was shot by two men on a motorbike as he was leaving his residence for work.
Gondal, 52, was working as an assistant director for the State Bank of Pakistan. He leaves behind his wife among the bereaved.
SITE Police Station SHO Rao Rafique said that an FIR has been lodged by the police and the investigations are underway. He added that since the FIR was filed against unidentified persons, they have yet to ascertain the reasons behind the killing. Rafique said the deceased was a resident of Meteroville SITE and confirmed he was shot once by the two assailants.
A committee member of the Sadr Anjuman Ahmaddiya Rabwah Pakistan, requesting anonymity, said that he was serving as the president of the Jamaat’s Orangi Town chapter for the past 11 years.
“He had no enemies and was very well respected,” he said.
The incident is the second killing of an Ahmadi in Karachi and the eleventh in the country so far this year. Earlier in January, Ahsan Kamal was gunned down in Manzoor Colony.
There have also been various other attacks on Ahmadis in the city, where the victims were able to escape death. Muhammad Akram Bhatti was a victim of one such attack, which left him severely injured.
“This state of fear has made living difficult for us,” said Saleemuddin, a Jamaat Ahmadiyya spokesperson. He added that wall chalking inciting religious hatred were cropping up in various localities as well.
According to the Jamaat committee member, there are about 700 to 800 Ahmadis living in Orangi Town who, he claims, are being watched whenever they congregate at their place of worship. There is only one place of worship for the community in the township, he added. He blamed Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi – militant outfits who allegedly have a hold in the area – for a role “in the community’s persecution”.
The committee member said neither law enforcement agencies nor the city’s two dominant political parties – namely Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Pakistan Peoples Party – are any help when it comes to their protection.