According to police, 40-year-old Nisar was killed while he was on his way from Old Golimar to Saddar.
As the assailants sprayed bullets on the victim, he tried to escape but fell off his motorbike at Garden Road after receiving multiple wounds. Nisar was immediately rushed to the Civil Hospital but he succumbed to injuries before receiving medical treatment.
The two passers-by, Yousuf (40) and Tariq (31), also sustained bullet injuries and were shifted to the hospital where their condition is stated to be out of danger.
Nisar Baloch, a social activist, was leading a campaign against the land mafia in Old Golimar area. He was a furious opponent of illegal encroachments at Gutter Baghicha.
It is important to recall that Nisar had addressed a news conference at Karachi Press Club against the land grabbers the other day and accused an ethnic political party of backing the illegal encroachers
Nisar’s brother Noor-uddin has said that Nisar’s news conference was the FIR against the killers during which he had mentioned their names.
An FIR (No 331/09) under section 302 and 324 has been registered against the unidentified suspects.
Meanwhile, major parts of Old Golimar and Pak Colony were shutdown in protest against the murder of Nisar Baloch. Soon after the killing, a large number of people took out a rally and staged a sit-in against the brutal act. All the business activities remained suspended while the roads leading towards Bada Board from Old Golimar were also blocked. (The Nation)
Who was Nisar Baloch ?
Nisar Baloch was associated with several NGOs as a known social worker, and was a schoolteacher by profession.
He started his social career in 1976 by establishing a street school, “Aap Ka Madressah,” where he provided free education to children and adults of the area.
In 1986, he established the Baloch Promotive Computer and English Language Center in his area (Old Golimar). So far, thousands of residents of the area have received IT degrees from the centre.
Apart from education activities, Baloch played a vital role in serving the old settlers of Karachi. Currently, Nisar Baloch was campaigning against the land mafia for grabbing the Tran-Lyari Park (Gutter Baghicha) land in SITE Town. He had launched several protest campaigns in this regard under the banner of the Gutter Baghicha Bachao Tehreek, Shehri-Citizens for a Better Environment and the Karachi NGOs Alliance.
In his struggle to protect land from encroachers, Baloch had faced jail terms on several occasions; numerous cases were registered against him at various police stations, mainly accusing him of inciting violence and damaging public property.
He was married but had no children. His wife is also a schoolteacher by profession. She works at a school in Gwadar, Balochistan. The couple had adopted a child.
Baloch was a resident of Noor Muhammad Village, Hall Road. His funeral will take place after Zuhr prayers on Sunday; his family has planned to bury him at the Mewa Shah graveyard.—WB
