Police launch probe after social activist stabbed to death

Police on Wednesday launched an investigation into the murder of a social activist who was stabbed to death in the New Karachi area a day earlier.

Saba Aslam, 27, was attacked outside her home in Sector 5-J of New Karachi near Aqsa Masjid on Tuesday when she came out early in the morning to run an errand.

Bilal Colony police have registered a case under Section 302 (murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code against a neighbour of the victim, Ghazanfar alias Maan, on behalf of the state through a police officer.

Aslam’s murder also echoed on social media, where users demanded that her killer be arrested.

According to the First Information Report, Aslam was stabbed to death near Monotechnical College in New Karachi.

Two eyewitnesses namely Akhlaq Ali and Zeeshan Shaukat told police that the woman was allegedly killed by their neighbour, Ghazanfar, who managed to escape from the crime scene.

The victim’s brother, Mohammed Yasir, and her sister, Sadaf, told police that they did not want any legal proceedings and even showed reluctance to lodge the FIR.“

She was murdered over some personal enmity and after an exchange of hot words,” said the FIR.Central SSP (Investigation) Shahla Qureshi said the initial probe had revealed that the murder took place over “throwing of garbage on the street” in the neighbourhood.

Bilal Colony Station Investigation Officer (SIO) Arif Shah said that police had lodged the FIR on behalf of the state through a police officer as the family had refused to lodge a case.

However, he said, Aslam’s relatives, who were in a “state of shock” initially, had now shown interest in pursuing the case legally.

Pakistan Observer

Cricket ground in North Karachi inaugurated

The city government will install Astroturf at the hockey ground of North Karachi town with a cost of Rs25 million, said City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal.

Talking to journalists after inaugurating a cricket ground in sector 11-E, North Karachi on Sunday, the Nazim said that the construction of more than 20 floodlight stadiums and cricket academies was also under way in all 18 towns of the city.

Provincial Sports Minister, Dr Muhammad Ali Shah; Minister for Youth Affairs, Sindh Faisal Subzwari; Town Nazim North Karachi, Akhtar Hussain; Town Nazim North Nazimabad, Mumtaz Hameed; prominent sports personalities and a large number of people were also present on the occasion.

Kamal said that the Haq Parast city government had started implementing the plan to construct cricket stadiums with floodlights in every town, adding that national cricket experts will be coordinated with in this project. He also directed the North Karachi Town Nazim to construct a sports academy and sports complex at the site adjacent to the cricket ground. He said that the complex should also have a hockey ground, which would be the second Astroturf hockey ground constructed by the city government in Karachi.

The city Nazim also asked Faisal Subzwari to provide technical coordination for the establishment of a sports academy in North Karachi.

Earlier, thousands of people including sports lovers greeted Kamal and Subzwari with a warm welcome when they arrived at the ground.

An exhibition cricket match was also supervised by the organisers after the inauguration of ground. The match was played between City Nazim XI and N. Karachi Town XI. Kamal and Subzwari represented the City Nazim XI and also opened the innings for their team.

North Karachi Town Eleven had Shah, Hussain and Hameed as the main players. Other cricketers also played in the match. A good number of spectators enjoyed the exhibition match at the newly-inaugurated ground in North Karachi.

Minors amid 40 burnt to death in Karachi inferno

At least forty people including many minor children and women were burnt to death as blazes completely engulfed many shelties in North Karachi sector five, Chiipa sources said.

12 fire tenders reached on the scene and started taming the fire meanwhile, many other people were seriously burnt who were shifted to hospital, sources added.

No cause of fire eruption, in huts made of sticks, could be reported. Several people remained caught in the fire for long time.

Eidhi sources added that over two dozens completely burnt dead bodies including 15 children and women, were shifted to different hospitals. Emergency was declared in Abbasi Shaheed hospital, hospital sources informed Geo News.

Geo T.V correspondent Faheem Siddiqui reported, “The deadly blazes overwhelmed around 15 to 20 cabins and huts and completely burnt them down, as people were fast asleep therefore, they could not get themselves rescued after inferno outbreak.”

Faheem added that the shelties were in the slum kind of area and were covered from three sides while the only way out, entrance and exit of the place, caught fire that made it hard for the unfortunates to flee from the fire scene.

He also feared that as many as three-dozen people must have been burnt in the lethal inferno in slum.

Rescue 1122 workers, on the directives of Syed Mustafa Kamal, city nazim, also reached on the spot and partook in rescue efforts together with fire fighters, local people, town authorities, Chiipa and Edhi workers.