Karachi CCTV footage shows arsonists wreaking havoc

http://www.dawn.comThursday, 31 Dec, 2009

KARACHI: The CCTV footage of the Karachi riots has been released to the media. The footage captured by cameras installed by the city district government clearly shows arsonists setting fire to shops, vehicles and destroying public and private property.

The images show several arsonists and rioters setting fire to cars and shops after the blast on Karachi’s Mohammad Ali Jinnah road.

According to the CDGK, these and other visuals were also sent to police and other law enforcement authorities so that the people seen in the video can be identified and action can be taken against them.

In the footage, police and other security personnel can be seen standing by, doing nothing, while miscreants were busy rioting.

DawnNews spoke to DIG South Mr Ghulam Nabi Memon who heads the investigating unit probing the riots. He said the police did not open fire to avoid collateral damage.

Memon said had the police opened fire they could have hit mourners in the procession and that would have had negative fallout. — DawnNews

Unrest in parts of Karachi, dozens of vehicles torched

http://www.geo.tv

Monday, December 28, 2009

KARACHI: Enraged people set several vehicles on fire in reaction to a power blast that ripped through Karachi’s main Ashura procession, killing at least 20 people.

According to media reports, angry mob have set ablaze Light House building situated at the MA Jinnah Road. While several vehicles, parked around the city court, have also been set on fire, sources said.

People are stranded in the building, which was set on fire.

There are also reports of unrest at different parts of the city, including Numaish, Jafar Society and MA Jinnah Road.

Edhi ambulances, KESC vehicles and police mobiles were torched.

Riots Erupt After Dozens Killed in Pakistan Blast

www.newser.com

29 dec 2009

Suicide bomber target Shiite religious procession

(Newser) – Rioting Shiite Muslims set fire to buildings and dozens of vehicles in Karachi last night after a suicide attack on a religious procession killed at least 33 people. The attack was the third on the city’s Shiite minority in three days, and many believe extremists are trying to spark sectarian conflict to hinder the government’s campaign against the Taliban and al-Qaeda, AP reports.

« A deliberate attempt seems to be afoot by the extremists to turn the fight against militants into a sectarian clash and make the people fight against one another, » President Asif Ali Zardari said in a statement. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, but authorities suspect it was the work of one of several Sunni extremist groups that have joined forces with the Taliban to destabilize the country.

~ par Alain Bertho sur 29 décembre 2009.

Publié dans émeutes, riots