Sabeem Mehmud: Leading human rights activist killed in Karachi shooting

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A prominent Pakistani women’s rights campaigner has been shot dead in a drive-by shooting in Karachi.

Sabeem Mehmud was travelling home with her mother from a discussion on torture allegations on Friday evening, when she was shot by the unidentified gunmen.

Ms Mehmud died on her way to hospital, where doctors reportedly retrieved five bullets from her body. Her mother was also shot and remains in a critical condition in hospital.

After the shooting witnesses said the front window on the driver’s side had been smashed in, glass covered the interior of the vehicle and blood stained the white exterior paint work.

The campaigner was hosting the discussion on torture in the Balochistan region which borders Iran as part of her role as director of the charity The Second Floor, commonly known as T2F.

Investigators would not be drawn on motives for the killing, but friends and colleagues described the death as an assassination.

Qadeer Baluch an activist who has highlighted the thousands who are missing in the Baluchistan region, by leading an almost 2,000 mile march across Pakistan, hinted government involvement in the killing.

“Everyone knows who killed her and why,” he told the Nation newspaper, without elaborating.

As news of the murder spread many left messages of condolence on social media websites, with many calling the incident a “tragedy”.

Former president Pervez Musharraf tweeted: “I am deeply disturbed to learn of the blatant murder of Sabeen Mahmud.”

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the killing and ordered an investigation into the assassination.

AP