LARKANA: Four people, including two brothers, were killed on Wednesday when armed motorcyclists opened fire on a car near the Shereen Amir Begum overhead bridge, close to the Lahori Regulator on the Rice Canal, within the jurisdiction of Civil Lines police station in Larkana.
The car was travelling to Naudero after a court hearing when it came under attack, as a 14-year-old land dispute between two factions of the Khokhar tribe, from Goth Hassan Wahan — which has already claimed seven lives — flared up again.
Those killed on the spot were Allah Warayo Khokhar, his brother Mansoor Ali Khokhar, their uncle Ali Sher Khokhar, and the car’s driver, Ghulam Mohiuddin Manganejo. Their cousin, Yar Muhammad Khokhar, was critically injured in the firing.
The attack sparked panic in the area. Sindh’s Chief Minister and Home Minister, along with the Inspector General of Police and the Deputy Inspector General of Larkana, have taken notice of the incident and sought reports from officials.
The gunmen continued firing openly on the road as they fled the scene. Panic spread through the area, with large crowds gathering. Arbab Khatoon, the widowed mother of the two slain brothers, stood on the road crying and cursing the attackers.
Police later arrived and shifted the bodies and the injured to the Trauma Centre, where the injured man — whose condition was described as critical — was moved to the ICU for treatment. Relatives of the victims rushed to the hospital on hearing of the incident.
Speaking to the media, Arbab Khatoon said the dispute centred on the ownership of 20 acres of agricultural land in the village. She alleged that the faction of Abdul Qadir Khokhar had earlier killed her brother-in-law and her only brother, Sikandar Khokhar, but no justice had been served, as police shelved both murder cases. She alleged that Abdul Qadir Khokhar subsequently orchestrated an attack on her home in which her daughter and sister-in-law were also killed.
She said that on the day of the incident, the family was returning to Naudero by car after a court hearing in Larkana when Ghulam Qadir Khokhar and his armed men pulled her out of the vehicle and pushed her into a shop, then shot dead her sons Allah Warayo and Mansoor, her brother-in-law Ali Sher Khokhar, and the driver, Ghulam Mohiuddin Manganejo, before wounding her nephew, Yar Muhammad Khokhar, and fleeing. She accused Ghulam Qadir Khokhar of devastating her entire family despite her repeated complaints to police/authorities and appealed to the IG Sindh, DIG and SSP Larkana to take notice, arrest those involved, and ensure justice for her sons and other slain relatives.
Sources say the dispute between cousins Abdul Qadir Khokhar and Sikandar Khokhar, over agricultural land, has persisted for more than 14 years, claiming seven lives from both sides before this latest incident — bringing the overall death toll to 11. Gul Khokhar was killed on the Sukkur bypass near Naudero in an earlier round of the same dispute, and Sikandar Khokhar was later killed while returning from a court appearance in Larkana. Two years ago, Pervez Khokhar, of Abdul Qadir’s faction, was also killed while returning from a court hearing at the Sukkur bus stand. No reconciliation efforts have been made between the two sides, raising fears of further bloodshed in the area.
Videos of the shooting have gone viral on social media, showing armed men — one of them in a shirt and trousers — firing openly on the car while standing in the middle of the road. The gunmen’s faces are reportedly visible in the footage. Despite this, Larkana police have so far failed to trace the assailants.
SSP Larkana Muhammad Azhar Khan Mughal led police teams in a door-to-door search across Goth Hassan Wahan and surrounding areas, demolishing the homes of the accused as raids continued on suspected hideouts. He said investigators were pursuing multiple leads, collecting evidence, recording eyewitness statements and reviewing CCTV footage, and that a police picket had been set up in the area.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah sought a detailed report from the IG Police and ordered swift arrests and measures to maintain law and order in Larkana. Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar also sought a report, expressed condolences to the bereaved families, and called for a thorough probe into the incident’s root causes. IG Sindh Javed Alam Odho likewise sought a report from SSP Larkana.
Protest in Naudero
The bodies of Ali Sher Khokhar, Mansoor Khokhar and Allah Warayo Khokhar were brought to Naudero by ambulance, where relatives staged a sit-in at Bab-i-Zulfiqar on the Sukkur–Larkana Bypass, blocking the road under the leadership of Javed Khokhar. The protest brought traffic on the highway to a standstill. The ASP Naudero arrived at the scene, met the victims’ families and assured them the accused would be arrested, after which the sit-in was called off.
Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2026
