Karachi comes to a standstill as MQM mourns MPA's killing

KARACHI: Businesses, markets and educational institutes remained shut on Friday in Sindh's Karachi, Hyderabad and other rural cities after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) announced a three-day mourning period over the killing of its provincial lawmaker Manzar Imam in Karachi a day earlier.

The transport association announced that transporters would keep their vehicles off the road and the All Karachi Traders’ Alliance said businesses and markets in the city would remain closed on Friday. Public and private transport remained sparse as roads presented a desolated look. Private and government educational institutions announced closure for the Dayand the Karachi University’s and Federal Urdu University’s examinations scheduled for the day were announced postponed. Funeral prayers for the assassinated MPA would be held in Jinnah ground and his burial would take place later inAzizabad’s Shuhada graveyard. Manzar Imam  was killed along with three guards in Karachi’s Orangi town area on Jan 17. The murder sparked violence in Karachi and several other cities and towns of interior Sindh. Markets were closed, public transport disappeared from roads and petrol and CNG stations were shut down. Four men were killed and several others were injured and four vehicles were set on fire in different areas of Karachi. The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) later claimed responsibility for the killing of the provincial lawmaker, a spokesman for the banned outfit told. MQM chief Altaf Hussain termed the killing of Manzar Imam part of a plot to disturb Karachi’s peace and urged people and workers of his party to remain peaceful. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairperson and  Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, the Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan and Federal Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour also belonging to the ANP called MQM chiefAltaf and offered condolence over the incident. The ANP had also announced three day mourning. The 46-year-old slain lawmaker, Syed Manzar Imam, had joined the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in 1986. He remained associated with the Orangi Town sector of the MQM’s organisational structure and became an MPA in the 2008 election from PS-95. He left a widow, two children, two brothers, three sisters and his mother. He was a Karachi University graduate.While many people believed he was a Shia, he was actually a Sunni. His name came to the limelight after the August 2010 killing of MQM lawmaker Raza Haider, who was also elected from anOrangi Town constituency (PS-94), when police investigators had said that Manzar Imam, too, was a potential target of the terrorists who killed MPA Haider on sectarian grounds. http://rtilive.pk/detail/9605 Right to Information Pakistan Live, RTI Live, Information Pakistan, RTI online Research ORganization,breaking news pakistan,current news about pakistan,current news from pakistan,current news of pakistan,current news on pakistan,current news pakistan,google news pakistan,hot news of pakistan,karachi pakistan news,latest news about pakistan,latest news from pakistan,latest news in pakistan,latest news of pakistan,latest news on pakistan,latest news pakistan,latest news pakistan urdu,latest pakistan news,live news pakistan,news about pakistan,news from pakistan,news in pakistan,news of pakistan,news on pakistan,news pakistan,news pakistan latest,pakistan current news,pakistan flood news,pakistan floods news,pakistan karachi news,pakistan latest news,pakistan latest news online,pakistan live news,pakistan new news,pakistan news,pakistan news channel,pakistan news lahore,pakistan news latest,pakistan news live,pakistan news online,pakistan news paper,pakistan news papers,pakistan news service,pakistan news today,pakistan news tv,pakistan news urdu,pakistan news english,pakistan news video,pakistan political news,pakistan top news,pakistan urdu news,pakistan english news,pakistan world news,todaynews of pakistan,rti news of pakistan,rtilive news of pakistan,top news of pakistan,urdu news pakistan,english news pakistan,urdu pakistan news,english pakistan news,world news pakistan,www pakistan urdu news,www pakistan english news,www rtilive pk news,yahoo pakistan news,action news,breaking news,business news, current news,daily news,e news,entertainment news,google news,headline news,india news,pakistan news,international news,it news,latest news,live news,lacal news,national news,new news,news,news channel,news channels,news entertainment,news for kids,news for today,news live,news of the day,news of the world,news of today,news of world,news paper,news papers,news today,news video,news weather,online news,recent news,science news,news the,today news,top news,weather news,world news,news yahoo,yahoo news,MQM mourns MPA's killing, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Azizabad’s Shuhada graveyard, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), MQM chief Altaf Hussain, akistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairperson and Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, the Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan and Federal Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour also belonging to the ANP called MQM chief Altaf