Customer shot dead by hotel owner in Karachi after being mistaken for robber

KARACHI: A young man was shot and killed by a hotel owner in Karachi’s Lyari area after allegedly being mistaken for a robber, police said.

The incident took place within the jurisdiction of Kalakot Police Station. According to police, the victim, identified as Mohammad Mustafa, had entered the hotel to buy tea when the owner, suspecting him to be a dacoit, opened fire. Mustafa sustained critical injuries and was rushed to the hospital, where he later succumbed to his wounds.

Mustafa, along with his friend, entered the hotel when the shooting occurred, police added.

The hotel owner, Sanaullah, has been arrested and booked in two cases — one for attempted murder, filed on behalf of Mustafa’s father, and another for possession of an unlicensed firearm.

Police confirmed they recovered a pistol from Sanaullah, who failed to produce a valid license for the weapon. Further investigations are being carried out, police added.

Earlier, an influential builder and developer, Jawed Iqbal, was allegedly taken from his office in Zamzama Commercial Area of Defence Housing Authority (DHA) by unidentified armed men dressed in police uniforms.

CCTV footage shows several armed men wearing masks coming in two police vans without number plates and entering Jawed Iqbal’s office. Some were in police uniforms while others were in plain clothes. The men forcibly took the builder with them.

Iqbal’s family members said that they approached the local police station to report the incident, but the police neither registered their complaint nor took any immediate action.