One killed, another injured in 'MQM-PPP workers clash' in Karachi

• Incident took place in Nazimabad No 2 area late Sunday.
• Police say clashes erupted between workers of two political parties.
• Deceased person identified as 48-year-old Faraz.

At least one person was killed and another injured in clashes between the workers of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) in Karachi’s Nazimabad area, MQM-P claimed.

The incident took place in the Nazimabad No 2 area late Sunday as political parties are busy canvassing, holding public gatherings and corner meetings to mobilise their supporters ahead of the February 8 elections, according to police, Geo News reported.

Police said clashes erupted between the workers of the two political parties and unidentified persons also lit two vehicles during the violence.

They said the deceased person was identified as 48-year-old Faraz.

A video of the incident also emerged wherein the political parties’ activists can be seen hurling chairs at each other.

Abbasi Shaheed Hospital administration said the man was brought to a hospital dead and added that he died of a bullet wound in his head.

Meanwhile, MQM-Pakistan Rabita Committee member Taha Siddiqui claimed that PPP workers opened fire at their office which resulted in the death of UC-incharge.

“The Peoples Party [PPP] cannot occupy the city through terrorism,” he alleged while speaking to the media outside the hospital.

In a statement issued following the incident, a MQM-Pakistan spokesperson claimed that PPP workers tried to remove their party’s flag which led to the altercation between the workers of the two parties.

However, the spokesperson said the dispute between them was settled after some time.

The PPP workers returned after two hours with armed guards and resorted to firing which left their worker dead, the statement added.

The MQM-P said a first information report (FIR) of the incident will be lodged following the funeral prayer of the deceased worker.

Addressing a press conference, MQM-P senior leader Mustafa Kamal claimed that the PPP workers carrying Kalashnikovs opened fire at their members following an altercation over flag removal.

He claimed that MQM-P workers were unarmed and did not “even throw stones” at them in retaliation.

He accused PPP leader Asim Hussain of orchestrating the attack on the MQM-P workers.

“I am warning for the last time that I will not let my workers even suffer a single scratch,” the MQM-P leader added.

Earlier in December last year, MQM-P claimed that its three workers were shot dead and others injured when PPP members fired on them.

In a statement, the party said its election office in Karachi’s Machar Colony — one of the largest slums of the port city — was attacked whilst workers and leaders were busy in election-related activities.

Police, on the other hand, had claimed that “two groups” had a clash in the area, adding that three people were killed, while the main suspect and his brother were arrested. 

Previous election campaigns in the metropolis have witnessed spasms of violence, with scores of candidates and voters targeted by bombings and gun attacks.