Karachi mayor’s spokesperson Karamullah Waqasi nominated in attempted murder case

Despite the registration of an attempted murder case against Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab’s spokesperson Karamullah Waqasi and other suspects, police have failed to arrest them even after the passage of one day.

Police have reportedly not made any significant progress in apprehending the individuals nominated by a man who survived gun attack. Meanwhile, Waqasi claimed that the investigation officer had contacted him, and he would soon record his statement.

The injured victim, Faraz Khan, a businessman and former president of the Burnes Road Food Street Association, on Monday expressed disappointment at the lack of action. He criticised the police saying that there were different laws for the rich and the poor. Instead of arresting the suspects in the attempted murder case, the police were maintaining telephonic contact with them, he lamented.

The FIR No 6/25 of the attempted murder was registered under the sections 324 (attempted murder), 109 (abetment) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Tipu Sultan police station on Sunday. The complainant, Faraz Khan, resident of PECHS Block 6, reported that four suspects on two motorcycles opened fire on him near his home at around 7:15am on Sunday morning.

The complainant stated in the FIR that when he slowed down his car near a speed breaker close to his house, some suspects started firing at him. “The bullets hit my car, and one bullet grazed my cheek.”

Khan alleged that the attack was linked to a financial dispute involving three persons —Karamullah, Mazhar and Mansoor Shah. He claimed that the suspects had collectively borrowed Rs98.7 million from him on various occasions for contracts related to road and garden maintenance.

The FIR states that when Khan demanded repayment, the suspects threatened to kill him. The complainant stated that the suspects also called him to Islamabad on the pretext of returning his money but they told him there to forget about the money and gave him death threats.

Khan said he was not deterred by the death threats and continued calling the suspects to demand his money. The complainant said the attack on him was orchestrated by the same individuals.

Police said they had initiated an investigation following the FIR registration. However, no arrests had been made till Monday night. Karamullah Waqasi, the mayor’s spokesperson who has been nominated in the FIR, dismissed the allegation made by the complainant against him.

Speaking to The News, he stated that while he knew the person who had filed the FIR, neither was he responsible for the firing incident nor was there any dispute between him and the complainant.

"After the FIR was filed, the investigation officer contacted me, and I will soon record my statement. Following the investigation, it will be proved that all the allegations against me are completely false and baseless," Waqasi maintained.

He explained that he knew the complainant because when the Burnes Road food street was developed three to four years ago, Khan was the president of the food street association. He also clarified that he had no involvement in any contracts for road and garden maintenance mentioned in the FIR.