Sabeen Mehmud, the director of cafe The Second Floor (T2F), was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Karachi late on Friday.
According to initial details, Mehmud was heading home along with her mother after having hosted an event on Balochistan at the cafe when two unidentified armed men opened fire on her.
Mehmud was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. Her mother, who had suffered bullet wounds, is under treatment at the Agha Khan Hospital, where her condition is described as critical.
Inquiry officer Mohammad Arshad said Mehmud’s car was passing by Defence library when two men opened fire on her vehicle. “Mehmud was shot four times while her mother was shot twice,” said Arshad.
The official went on to add that it has been established that it was a target killing and that the police are now investigating the motive behind the attack. “We are checking to see if there are CCTVs installed near the incident,” he added.
Baloch activist Mama Qadeer said Sabeen and her mother left T2F shortly after the event had ended.
“The programme went really well and the response was great. Once the event ended, we stayed back at the venue for a bit. Sabeen then told us that she was going to leave since her house was far,” said Qadeer.
“Shortly after Mehmud left, we heard gunshots,” he added.
Qadeer said the event was initially supposed to be held on April 21 at a different location, but the venue was later changed after the organisers started receiving threats.
Expressing grief over the incident, Qadeer said, “They don’t let me leave Pakistan, they don’t let me speak at LUMS, they don’t let me speak in Karachi. Where should we go to speak about our rights, where should we raise our voices.”
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