Karachi (Staff Report): Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Syed Ali Raza Abidi’ guard has taken into custody as murder probe under way.
Abidi was shot dead in Karachi’s upscale Defence Housing Authority (DHA) neighbourhood on Tuesday.
As per details, unidentified armed motorcycle riders opened fire on his vehicle outside his residence at Khayaban-e-Ghazi in DHA Phase-V.
Unknown assailants shot Abidi as soon as he disembarked from his vehicle outside his residence, SSP South Pir Mohammad Shah said and added the former lawmaker was shifted to PNS Shifa Hospital in critical condition where he succumbed to his wounds.
Police, after cordoning off the area, launched a search operation to arrest the culprits.
Abidi's guard, Qadeer, has been taken into custody, the police official confirmed.
Doctors conducted a post-mortem on the deceased's body. According to the initial report, Abidi sustained four bullets in the neck, arm and chest.
Abidi was elected as a member of the National Assembly (MNA) on the MQM's ticket in the 2013 general elections. However, he later joined the Pakistan faction of the party. He had resigned from his MNA post in November 2017 citing "political and personal reasons".
The resignation had come days after Abidi announced to quit the MQM-P after it entered into an electoral alliance with the PSP.
Abidi, however, rejoined MQM-P in December 2017.
In September, Abidi had announced his resignation from MQM-P’s basic membership citing “personal reasons” after the party ignored him in allotting ticket for NA-243 by-election following his defeat at the hands of Prime Minister Imran Khan in July 25 general elections.