Accessibility links

Breaking News

Pakistani Rights Activist Shot Dead


Khurram Zaki was killed in Karachi
Khurram Zaki was killed in Karachi

Pakistani police said on May 8 that unknown gunmen riding motorcycles have shot and killed a prominent rights activist and injured two others in the southern city of Karachi.

Khurram Zaki was attacked late on May 7 at a roadside restaurant, where he was dining with a friend, police said. The friend and a bystander were critically injured in the attack.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

Zaki, a former journalist, was the editor of the website and a popular Facebook page, Let Us Build Pakistan, which claimed to "spread liberal religious views and condemned extremism in all forms."

Zaki was best known for helping lead a campaign against Abdul Aziz, the cleric of the controversial Lal Masjid or Red Mosque in the capital, Islamabad, a bastion of Islamic extremists.

The campaigners filed a court case charging the cleric with incitement against the country's Shi'ite minority, which are often the target of deadly attacks.

Based on reporting by AP and dawn.com

XS
SM
MD
LG