In an unfortunate turn of events, one person was killed and another injured in a clash between the workers of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) in Karachi’s Nazimabad area, MQM-P has claimed.
The incident took place in the Nazimabad No 2 area late Sunday as political parties are busy campaigning, holding public gatherings and corner meetings to mobilise their supporters ahead of the February 8 elections, according to police, Geo has reported.
Police said clashes erupted between the workers of the two political parties and unidentified persons also lit two vehicles on fire during the violence.
They said the deceased person was identified as 48-year-old Faraz.
A video of the incident also emerged online wherein the political activists can be seen hurling chairs at each other.
Abbasi Shaheed Hospital administration said the deceased man was brought to the hospital already dead and added that he died of a bullet in his head.
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 fight between the workers of the two parties. However, the spokesperson said the dispute between them was settled after some time.
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.
Moreover, 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.
Election campaigns in the past have witnessed episodes of violence, with scores of candidates and voters targeted by bombings and gun attacks.
