By Christine Khamis

 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan –

Unidentified assailants gunned down a Pakistani rights activist in a drive-by shooting on Saturday in Karachi. The activist, Khurram Zaki, was known for his fight against the Taliban as well as Sunni extremist groups.

Mr. Zaki was gunned down at a restaurant while meeting with a friend by attackers on motorbikes. Two other people were wounded during the attack.

A splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the shooting. Police say, however, that they are unable to verify whether the faction, known as the Hakeemullah Group, is behind the attack. The group has falsely taken responsibility for other attacks in the past.

A former journalist, Mr. Zaki was a blogger and editor for Let Us Build Pakistan, a pro-Shiite blog that supports democratic values.

He was especially well known for his campaign against Abdul Aziz, the head cleric of the Lal Masjid, a prominent Sunni extremist mosque. Mr. Zaki and other activists protested outside of the mosque after Mr. Aziz refused to denounce an attack on a school in Peshawar in 2014. 152 people, most of them schoolchildren, were killed in the attack. Mr. Zaki and the other activists then filed a lawsuit against Mr. Aziz for incitement to hatred and violence against the Shiites.

Mr. Zaki is the third human rights activist to be killed in Karachi since 2013. Another influential activist as well as a human rights lawyer were also attacked and killed by extremist groups. Asad Iqbal Butt, from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, says that such groups have begun to target activists who campaign against social and religious injustice and intolerance.

Colleagues of Mr. Zaki released a statement in which they pledged to continue to stand up to militant groups.

 

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Activist Khurram Zaki killed in Pakistan’s Karachi – 8 May 2016

BBC – Pakistani Activist Khurram Zaki Murdered in Karachi – 8 May 2016

The New York Times – Pakistani Rights Activist Is Shot and Killed in Karachi – 8 May 2016

Voice of America – Pakistan Rights Activist Killed in Karachi – 8 May 2016