Slain ex-MQM leader Ali Raza Abidi laid to rest in Karachi
Abidi's funeral prayers were offered earlier today at Imam Bargah Yasrab in DHA
December 26, 2018
KARACHI: Slain politician and former Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan lawmaker Ali Raza Abidi was laid to rest in Karachi on Wednesday.
Abidi was shot multiple times outside his residence in Khayaban-e-Ghazi neighbourhood of DHA on Tuesday night by unknown assailants, who fled from the scene. He was shifted to PNS Shifa Hospital in critical condition where he succumbed to his wounds.
His funeral prayers were offered after Zuhr at Imam Bargah Yasrab in DHA today.
Allama Hasan Zafar Naqvi led the funeral prayers of the slain political leader. Farooq Sattar, Syed Sardar Ahmed, Salman Baloch, Deputy Mayor Arshad Vohra were among the prominent politicians who joined in the prayers. Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi were also present.
Condemnations poured in over the incident from all quarters, with former MQM-P leader Khawaja Izharul Hasan calling for the immediate arrest of the suspects involved in Abidi's assassination. Dr Farooq Sattar, also a former leader, said the incident was a question mark for the federal and provincial leadership that such killings had started to happen again with more frequency.
Abidi's death comes days after two workers of the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) were gunned down in the city's Usmania Society. Earlier this month, six people were wounded when a low-intensity blast hit a Milad organised by MQM-P in Gulistan-e-Johar.
PSP chairperson Mustafa Kamal, in his condemnation message, said that Abidi's tragic assassination was a conspiracy to disturb the peace of Karachi, the industrial hub of Pakistan, whereas Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar stressed that the government should reconsider its decision to rescind the security of political leaders.
It is noteworthy that Abidi was lately involved in efforts to reconcile the dispersed factions of the MQM.
