Currency exchange dealer, guard shot dead by rivals in Islamabad

Armed rivals shot dead a currency exchange owner and his security guard in Islamabad’s F-8 sector on Saturday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.  

Police said the suspects fled when the men accompanying the deceased fired back at them.

The incident occurred at the Elysium Tower in the federal capital where gunmen targeted forex dealer Shahzad Satti.

The Foreign Exchange Dealers Association condemned the murder and announced a strike.

They accused the private tower’s administration for the murder.

The association said that the reason of the attack was a monetary dispute but they maintained the police wanted to take the case to a different direction.

In yet another incident of shooting reported from the federal capital, a man was killed near the bustling I-8 business center.

Eyewitnesses reported that the attackers fired at the man, who was sitting in his vehicle for about five minutes.

The victim tried to take cover in a nearby under-construction building, the witnesses said, adding that the attackers followed him inside, continued shooting, and then fled the scene in a double-cabin truck.

Witnesses further said that the victim’s vehicle crashed into a tree as he tried to evade the attackers.

However, a companion of the victim reportedly survived the attack and fled from the scene, they explained.

Police, which identified the deceased as Qamar Raja from Mandi Bahauddin, said that initial reports suggested that personal enmity might be behind the murder.

The Force said it had set up checkpoints to apprehend the fleeing suspects and was also in contact with the victim’s family.

Reporter: Tayyab Saif