KARACHI: An 18-year-old recently married woman was shot dead and her husband critically injured in the Gulshan-i-Hadeed area while the couple was returning to the city after appearing before a court in Thatta district, police said.

Malir Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Abdul Khaliq Pirzada told Dawn that the victim was originally from Dhabeji in Thatta district and had recently married a young man from Korangi.

He said the woman’s family had filed an application under Section 491 (habeas corpus) of the Criminal Procedure Code before a court in Thatta.

According to SSP Pirzada, the couple appeared before the court, where the woman recorded a statement in favour of her husband.

“As they were returning on a motorcycle, armed assailants travelling in a car opened indiscriminate fire on them, killing the woman,” he said.

The woman’s husband and another relative were critically injured in the attack, SSP Pirzada added.

He said police had conducted raids and arrested one suspect, while efforts were underway to apprehend the other suspects.

In a statement, Steel Town Police said the firing took place near Attock Petrol Pump on the National Highway, where unidentified suspects travelling in a white Suzuki Alto opened fire on a motorcycle carrying the couple and their companion.

The three were travelling from Thatta towards Karachi. The statement added that the 18-year-old bride died on the spot, while her husband and another relative sustained serious injuries. The body and the injured were shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical College.

The injured man’s father told the media that his son and daughter-in-law had married of their own free will around three months ago at the City Courts.

He said his daughter-in-law’s parents had subsequently lodged a kidnapping case in a Thatta court.

“The couple appeared before the court today, where the woman recorded her statement saying they had married of their own free will,” he said.

He claimed the court had directed Thatta police to provide protection to the couple on their way back. However, he said, the police dropped them off in Gulshan-i-Hadeed, saying the area fell under the jurisdiction of Karachi police.

The groom’s father added that his maternal nephew, who also got injured, was riding the motorcycle when they came under attack, alleging that the girl’s father was involved in the incident.

In May this year, a newly married couple was shot dead in Karachi’s Malir area soon after appearing before a local court.