KARACHl: A Muttahida Qaumi Movement worker was shot dead in a suspected targeted attack in the Khokhrapar area in the early hours of Friday morning, according to police and party sources.

While the party blamed the Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi for the killing, the latter alleged that the incident could be the result of some internal dispute within the Muttahida.

Khokhrapar SHO Shah Jehan Lashari said Fahad Shaikh, 30, was passing through a sports ground in Madina Colony on a motorbike when he was attacked by some armed motorcyclists. The suspects also shot at and wounded another man standing near his home, Kamran, before fleeing.

Both the wounded men were rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), where doctors declared Fahad dead on arrival, said Dr Seemin Jamali, head of the JPMC emergency department.

She said Fahad was hit by a bullet in the neck, while Kamran received minor wounds.While the Khokhrapar SHO said they were waiting for the family to lodge an FIR to formally launch a probe to unearth the killers and their possible motive, the MQM blamed their supposed rival group, Muhajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi for killing their worker, Fahad, and wounding Kamran, the brother of another party activist.

In a statement, the MQM coordination committee said the MQM-H had allegedly targeted their party workers in Landhi, Malir and Lines Area over the past several days. The committee also accused the MQM-H of attacking their party offices in the areas and opening random fire to spread fear among the residents.

The MOM alleged that the police and administration were not taking any action against the suspects. The party demanded arrest of the killers of Fahad and urged the authorities to `restrain` MQM-H workers.

Meanwhile, an MQM-H spokesperson in a reaction to the allegations said that they (Muttahida) allegedly killed their own activists in order to `hide internal differences` within the party.

The spokesperson said they had adopted a policy of non-confrontation, but the Muttahida leaders on Friday delivered in Malir `provocative speeches` which were `condemnable`. He asked the party not to drag them into their own `internal differences`.

He claimed that three workers of the MQM-H had been wounded over the past one week and urged the administration to take its notice.

Just a week ago, the Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, had invited representatives of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi and Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) at the paramilitary force`s headquarters after the clashes in Karachi and Hyderabad for which all the three parties had blamed one another.

The leaders of these parties had assured the paramilitary force director general that they would play a `positive role for peace in Karachi`.

Maj Gen Bilal Akbar had stated that peace in Karachi was a result of sacrifices of the people and law enforcement agencies and it was their collective responsibility to maintain peace and, therefore, an atmosphere of tolerance and harmony should be promoted.