PPP lawmaker Shahnaz Ansari assassinated

NAUSHEHRO FEROZ: A provincial lawmaker of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Shahnaz Ansari, was gunned down on Saturday in Naushehro Feroze district of Sindh, police said.

Ansari, who was nominated on a reserved seat, was allegedly killed by a nephew of her recently deceased brother-in-law, Zahid Khokhar, police said. The PPP leader was attending Khokar’s Chehlum when the attack took place. She was rushed to the People’s Medical Hospital, Nawabshah, but passed away before she reached the hospital, according to doctors.

Police said an investigation would be conducted to ascertain how many individuals were involved in the murder. Initial reports suggested the assassination was motivated by a longstanding land dispute. Khokhar’s nephews had been claiming the rights to the disputed land stating there had been no rightful heir to it.

Ansari’s husband, Dr Hameed Ansari, told the media she had constantly been receiving death threats, and that she had informed police about them. “We had requested a police squad [for protection],” he said. “There was no police present at the place where the Chehlum was being held,” he said. Shehnaz Ansari was reportedly active within the PPP and was deeply involved in Sindh’s political scene. She was also the district president of the PPP Women’s Wing in her constituency. Hundreds of PPP workers reached the hospital as soon as news broke about her murder.