Businessman, driver injured in gun attack

Prominent businessman Muhammad Lakhani survived a murderous attack on Wednesday when unidentified armed men in a car opened fire on his vehicle.

The businessman and his driver were wounded in the attack. The assailants fled when Lakhani fired at them in retaliation. According to initial reports, the businessman left his house near Karsaz with his driver at 1:20pm. He used the Lyari Expressway to go to his company’s office located in the SITE area near the Jamia Binoria.

“At the Garden interchange, the vehicle was coming down towards Manghopir Road when a white Corolla car overtook and opened fire,” said police. “There were four people in the vehicle.”

As soon as he was targeted, the construction industry tycoon retaliated and returned fire, after which the suspects fled. The businessman and his driver were injured in the incident and went to a hospital.

Police said they were looking for the empty shells of the bullets fired by the suspects as no bullet casings had so far been found on the scene. Police were though able to collect seven bullet casings from the prominent builder's vehicle. No casehad been registered till the filing of this news story.

District Keamari SSP Fida Hussain Janwari told The News that the suspects used a white Toyota Corolla, and three of them shot at the businessman’s vehicle while the fourth drove the car. “Most probably, the suspects were chasing them after the businessman left home and they tried to intercept him shortly after he left the Lyari Expressway’s Garden interchange,” the officer said. “But the businessman quickly responded and also started firing. Resultantly, the suspects escaped.”

The officer said the suspects used small weapons and police were searching for the empty shells. Talking about the motive behind the assassination attempt, the SSP said the injured businessman in his initial statement had told police that he did not receive any extortion threat, and the case was being investigated from different angles, including business rivalry or personal enmity.

The officer said that both the businessman and his driver were taken to a private hospital on National Stadium road and the condition of both of them was stable. Further investigations are under way.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah also took notice of the incident and sought a report from Additional Inspector General of Police Javed Alam Odho. The chief minister condemned the attack on the businessman.