Home »Top Stories » Karachi: the city that bleeds

Thirty-three more people, including political activists and a minor girl, were killed in various parts of the metropolis on Thursday, taking the death toll to over 60 in the last three days' violence. The wave of violence gripped the financial hub of the country after an armed attack on a local political leader on Tuesday.

Subsequently, the miscreants, who had taken positions on hilltops at Orangi Town, Qasba Colony and other surrounding areas sprayed the passers-by commuters and others with bullets, forcing residents to migrate to safer places. They also lobbed hand grenades on them.

A town office and public and private vehicles also came under attack in different neighbourhoods where miscreants set some eight vehicles and five houses on fire. Patients discharged from major hospitals have reported that the emergency rooms of those hospitals were crowded by people suffering from bullet wounds. Since Tuesday, the inhabitants of most volatile areas including Orangi, Banaras, Qasba, Pirabad, Baldia, Saeedabad, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, North Karachi, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Sarjani and Old Subzi Mandi were found huddled in their homes for fear of violence.

The law enforcement agencies appeared toothless to provide security to the inhabitants of these areas. Some 10 commuters lost their lives at newly constructed Banaras Bridge when unknown armed riders intercepted a mini-bus (W-21) and fired indiscriminate gunshots, leaving those inside the bus in a pool of blood.

Similar incidents took place in the Site police station limits where some unidentified people attacked Masha Allah Coach, killing three more persons and wounding eight others, including women and children. As many as 15 bodies and 35 injured were rushed to Qatar and Abbasi Shaheed hospitals. Most of the incidents took place in the surrounding areas of Orangi Town including Pirabad, Qasba, Islamia Colony, and Kati Pahari. Qasba Colony remained one of the most volatile localities during the last three days where over 24 people have lost their lives.

An activist of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was gunned down in E area of Qasba Colony in the limits of Pirabad police station. The victim, who was later identified as Tanveer Hussain alias Pahari, was the resident of the neighbourhood where the incident took place.

A six-year-old girl, Laiba daughter of Mian Gul, was hit by two bullets when she was on her way to home from a sanctuary in the limits of Pirabad police station. She died on the spot. Alamgir, 30, son of Pir Dad, a resident of Muslimabad, was killed by unknown assailants when he was returning home from work in Pirabad limits.

Qasba Colony and its other surroundings remained tense on Thursday as Zohaib son of Din Ali was killed while six others - Mohammad Shah, Mazhar Abbas, Pervaiz, Miandad, Mina Bibi and Yaqoob - received bullets wounds. The injured and the bodies were shifted to Qatar and Abbasi Shaheed hospitals. Yaqoob Pathan received burn injuries when miscreants set his house on fire near Qasba police checks post. The victim succumbed to his injuries on his way to hospital. Four more persons including Akhtar son Azam, Shahzad and two others who could not be identified were killed in different vicinities of Pirabad police limits. A town office of Saeedabad sector 7 come under a drive-by attack as some unidentified riders threw a petrol bomb in his office, damaging its outer wall.

As dusk approached the city, a surge in acts of violence in different parts of the metropolis especially Baldia, Orangi Town and other mixed localities was noticed. These incidents claimed eight peoples, who included local leader of ANP at Baldia.

A vice president of ANP Baldia ward Imtiaz Afridi was shot dead at Baldia sector 19-B Afridi Chowk. Similarly, one Shah Rukh Pasha, 29 son of Zia ul Haq was killed while Arshad was injured at Baldia sector 19-C. A bullet-riddled body of Zahid Baloch son of Arshad was found in Memon Goth. Police said the victim, who belonged to BLA, had several criminal cases against him. A 26-year-old unknown man was gunned down at Kalakot Usmanabad. Police said the victim appeared to be Urdu-speaking. Three more persons fell prey to targeted killings incident at Mominabad Haryana Colony near Aslam Shaheed Chowk.

Three more persons were targeted at Orangi Town sector 13 and Mominabad on late Thursday. One victim was identified as Baqtawar while two others remained unknown till filing of this report. When contacted DIG West Yaqoob Minhas said the city is facing worst-ever law and order situation. He said the law enforcers are facing difficulties to maintain peace in the city, adding that a comprehensive strategy is being evolved to root out the miscreants involved in recent spree of violence.

AFP adds: Ambulances had been racing through the city's troubled areas all day, ferrying bodies and the injured to hospitals. Earlier officials said a third straight day of violence had killed nearly 40 people not including the bus attacks. The killings have been blamed on loyalists of former coalition partners the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Awami National Party (ANP), which represent different ethnic communities and straddle volatile political fault-lines.

They underscore deep insecurity in the country's economic hub, which is used by Nato to ship supplies to Afghanistan. The city is also plagued by sectarian killings, crime and kidnappings. A security official said several neighbourhoods remained tense and gunfire could be heard as the sun set.

Local residents complained they were virtually confined to their homes because of indiscriminate firing. "Many people here had run out of their food stocks. There is no milk for children and no chance of patients being shifted to hospitals for treatment," said Mohammad Asghar, a schoolteacher in the Orangi area.

"We are left at the mercy of trigger-happy scoundrels and the security forces are conspicuous by their absence," he added. A local TV channel said its reporting staff survived after their van was fired on the way back from interviewing a family affected by the violence. "Our staff survived a dangerous attack," said a TV spokesman.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan says 490 people have been killed in targeted killings so far this year, compared to 748 in 2010 and 272 in 2009. This week it blamed the government, led by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of President Asif Ali Zardari, for failing to stop the killings. The MQM recently quit the PPP-led coalitions that rule both Sindh, where Karachi is the capital, and the federal government. ANP is still a partner.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2011


Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011


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