HYDERABAD:
Traders in Sanghar district observed a shutdown on Thursday to protest against the police’s lack of progress in the murder case of Dr. Saleem Arain, who was gunned down on Tuesday. The family, Arain community and local traders lamented that not only are the culprits still at large, but sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) have also not been invoked even though a banned outfit has claimed responsibility for the killing.
Malik Imtiazul Haq, a local politician associated with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, said at a press conference that the incident was a targeted killing. Arain was shot when he left his clinic for his residence near Rehmat Shah Chowk. The district headquarters hospital referred him to the Peoples Medical University Hospital in Nawabshah, from where he was shifted to a private facility in Karachi, where he succumbed to his injuries. He had sustained two gunshot wounds.
“A terrorist organization has claimed responsibility for the attack, but it is regrettable that the police have not included the relevant parts of the ATA in the FIR,” Haq said. He added that the alleged terror outfit had sent a warning to Punjani settlers in Sanghar through Arain’s killing.
The business world warned of further protests and shutdowns if the killers were not brought to justice. Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Shazia Atta Marri also condemned the killing.
