CHINIOT: Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Chiniot Vice-President Asghar Ali was shot dead at Muslim Bazaar on Wednesday night.

Asghar was passing through the market when armed men opened fire on him. He was taken to the District Headquarters Hospital, where he breathed his last. He also worked as a journalist and was information secretary of the Chiniot Press Club.

Press Club President Chaudhry Sarwar Ali condemned the murder and demanded that the police arrest the culprits.

District Police Officer Abdul Qadir Qamar told Dawn that the police were conducting raids to arrest the suspects. He said a case would be registered after autopsy.

This is the second incident in the last few days in which an MQM official has been killed. Earlier, an office-bearer was slain in Sialkot.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has taken notice of the murder of Asghar Ali and sought a report from the DPO. He ordered immediate arrest of the culprits and expressed his heartfelt sympathies with the bereaved family.