Karachi Firing: Five Religious Students Injured in Suspected Clifton Robbery Attack
Police say the shooting occurred after alleged resistance during a robbery, while the victims claim armed men opened fire after their rickshaw failed to stop.
Police investigate the scene after armed men opened fire on a rickshaw in Clifton, Karachi.
KARACHI: Karachi Firing left five religious students injured near the Clifton Driving Licence Branch after unidentified armed men opened fire on a rickshaw carrying members of a religious group from Punjab, police said.
According to Karachi Police, the incident took place during an alleged robbery attempt after the victims reportedly resisted the suspects. One of the injured remains in critical condition.
Police identified the injured as 21-year-old Hafiz Ali, 20-year-old Hafiz Samama, 19-year-old Hafiz Mubashir, 24-year-old Hafiz Muhammad Talha and 32-year-old Hafiz Mohsin Raza. All five are Huffaz (memorisers of the Quran) from Gujranwala, Punjab.
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The group had arrived in Karachi two days earlier with a religious caravan to visit Dawat-e-Islami’s Faizan-e-Madina centre. On Monday night, they were travelling by rickshaw to the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi when the attack occurred.
Speaking from Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Hafiz Mohsin Raza said armed men attempted to stop the rickshaw near Clifton. He claimed the men appeared to belong to a law enforcement agency because of their appearance. Instead of stopping, however, the rickshaw driver accelerated, prompting the attackers to open fire.
Mohsin Raza said the passengers urged the driver to stop so they could cooperate with what they believed was a security check, but the driver refused because he was familiar with the security situation in Karachi.
He further alleged that the attackers took the victims’ mobile phones, leaving behind only one handset so they could contact relatives. He also claimed the assailants took away the rickshaw driver and three other passengers with them.
Following the shooting, Boat Basin SHO Inspector Riaz and a heavy police contingent reached the area near the Clifton Driving Licence Branch. Officers were unable to immediately locate either the attackers or the exact scene of the shooting.
Witnesses near the driving licence office told police they heard intense gunfire, describing it as sounding like automatic or heavy-calibre weapons. Police said they will obtain CCTV footage from the area in daylight to expand the investigation.
Authorities have launched an inquiry to determine the circumstances surrounding the attack and to identify those responsible.
