Pakistani politician, Anjum Aqeel narrowly escapes assassination attempt

Karachi: A leader of a Pakistani religious party had a lucky escape when several shots were fired at his car here, days after renowned Qawwal Amjad Sabri was killed by Taliban militants in the country’s largest city and economic hub. Aqeel Anjum, a leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, was travelling in his car in the Orangi area when several shots were fire at his car on Saturday. “Yes they were several bullet marks on his car but he escaped unhurt and his driver drove him away from there,” a police officer said. [caption id=“attachment_2856974” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A file image of Anjum Aqeel (R). Reuters[/caption] The reason for the attack has not been ascertained as yet as further investigations are underway. This is the second assassination attempt on a prominent personality in Karachi after the target killing of well-known and popular Qawwali exponent Sabri last Wednesday by Taliban militants in the Liaquatabad area of the city. After Sabri’s killing, prominent television personality Farhan Ali Waris also escaped an assassination attempt near his home in the Teen Hatti area near Liaquatabad in Karachi. Waris said his guard had retaliated before the unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle could open fire on him and sped away. Last Monday, the son of the sitting Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court was also kidnapped from outside a shopping centre in the upmarket Clifton area. Karachi which is Pakistan’s economic hub and biggest city has for years been a hotbed for criminals, gangsters and militants who are involved in kidnapping for ransom, target killings, sectarian violence, terrorism, bank robberies and other crimes. Street crime remains one of the biggest problems here despite the paramilitary rangers and police carrying out a clean-up operation in Karachi since September 2013.