Prominent Activist Shot Dead In Karachi

March 14, 2013

Pakistan police say gunmen have killed a prominent social activist in the country’s largest city of Karachi.

Perween Rahman was on her way home the night of March 13 when she was shot and killed by gunmen on a motorcycle.

Senior police officer Javed Odho said Rahman was struck four times in the chest and neck and died on the way to hospital.

Rahman, 54, was heading the Orangi Pilot Project, a nongovernmental group working since 1980 on sanitation, health, and microfinancing projects in the city's poor neighborhoods.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan condemned the killing, saying Rahman had worked tirelessly for 30 years to help the vulnerable, despite facing constant danger.

Karachi, a city of about 18 million people, has long been plagued by ethnic, political, and sectarian violence.