Chief banned outfit Ali Haideri along with aide shot dead in Khairpur

KHAIRPUR: Allama Sher Ali Haideri, Chief of banned outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba was shot down along with his associate in Khairpur area of Dost Mohammad Abro area near Pir Jo Goth before dawn on Monday.

Allama Ali Sher Haideri, chief of outlawed Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, was killed with one of his associates when he was ambushed by unknown miscreants near Khairpur on night between Sunday and Monday, said District Police Officer Pir Mohammad Shah while talking to media men.

Haideri, a renowned religious scholar, was returning to his hometown Khairpur from a ceremony in Pir Jo Goth when he came under attack, he said. The miscreants sprayed bullets on his vehicle killing him and his assistant Imtiaz Phalphoto on spot, he said, adding that, 6 other people were also injured in the attack.

In retaliation by Haideri’s guards, an attacker was also killed who was later identified as Oshaq Ali Jagerani. However, his accomplices managed to flee the scene, he told media men.

The bodies and injured have been shifted to the Civil Hospital Khairpur, he said. The security has been tightened throughout the district after the incident in the wake of possible reaction of the killing, he added.

DPO Pir Mohammad Shah said Haideri’s killing could be the result of personal enmity. It may be recalled here Allama Sher Ali Haideri was head of Sipah-e-Sahaba but after Government declared his organization as banned he constituted a new organization with name of Millat-e-Islamia which was also declared as outfit later and he constituted a new organization with name of Jamaat Ahl-e-Sunat.

He was also Patron-in-chief of Jamia Hydri. Various head of banned outfit including Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, Zia-ur-Rehman Farooqi and Maulana Tariq Azeem and Allama Sher Ali Haideri has been killed so far.

After the murder of Allama Sher Ali Haideri, Angry protestors set ablaze two vehicles including a bus and blocked the roads in Nagan Chowrangi area of Karachi to protest his killing. Ariel firing and stone pelting by the protestors created panic in the area.

The activists of Jamaat Ahl-e-Sunat and followers of Haideri hurled stone on vehicles in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Khairpur, Checha Watni and others areas. They also chanted slogans against the government and forced the shopkeepers to close their businesses.

On the other hand, Pakistan Ulema Council while condemning the murder of Haideri has announced three days mourning. Information Secretary Pakistan Ulema Council Nasser-u-Din while talking to Private TV Channel declared the murder of Allama Haideri as conspiracy to erupt sectarian violence in the country.

Quaid Muttahida Quami Movement Altaf Hussain in a statement from London strongly denounced the murder of Allama Haideri and termed the incident as a conspiracy to disrupt religious harmony in Sindh.

He demanded of the President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik to arrest the people behind the murder of Allama Ali Sher Haideri immediately.

Violence broke out in different areas of Karachi and three vehicles and petrol pump were set on fire after the murder of Allama Sher Ali, chief of banned outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba along with his associate in Khairpur area of Dost Muhammed Abro area near Pir Jo Goth before dawn on Monday.

On Monday morning when the news of Haideri’s killing broke out, enraged crowds of his followers came on streets in various cities including Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Khairpur, Checha Watni and hurled stones on the vehicles.

The angry mob also set a bus and vehicle set on fire in Nagan Chowrangi area of Karachi. Due to firing of unidentified men, the vehicle of fire brigade could not be reached in the area to extinguish the fire.

The shopkeepers had to shut their shops and business activities after incidents of firing in North Karachi, Nagan Chowrangi, North Naziamabad and Quaid-e-Abad areas while the business activities could not be started in various areas of Karachi.

On the other hand, rangers and heavy contingent of Police have been deployed in the violent hit areas. According to Central leader of Jamaat Ahl-e-Sunat Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Nadeem, neither of students of Jamia mosque was involved in any violence nor allowed to go outside the mosque.

The youngsters also came out in Pak colony, Old Golimar, Baldia town, Saidabad and Lesbela and suspended the traffic for some time. In Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana and other areas of Sindh, the activists of banned outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba forcefully closed the shopkeepers.

Police have also arrested two people involved in violence in Nawabshah while Parliamentary troops were patrolling in Khairpur city, the native area of Allama Sher Ali Haideri.

The people entering in the area are being checked and they are being asked to go into the area on their own responsibility.