Day 3’ of violence: death toll 28. 10 more killed

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk

10 01 2010

By Faraz Khan

KARACHI: At least 10 more people were killed on Saturday, the third day of the violent events that started on Thursday with the discovery of a severed head of a political activist. With the fresh wave of killings, the death toll has risen to 28.

Seemingly, the situation has created a gaping rift among citizens belonging to different ethnicities, especially between the Baloch and the Urdu-speaking.

Despite tall claims made by the government and law enforcement agencies, no concrete steps have been hitherto taken, as the law and order situation of the city continues to deteriorate; and the violence is gradually spreading in other areas and changing the nature of the incidents. On the other hand, the squabbles between the two chief political parties of the country – the Pakistan People’s Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement – keep on snowballing.

Unrest continued in various areas of the city, especially in Lyari, Garden, Usmanabad, Ranchore Lines, Kharadar, Saddar, Pak Colony, Old Golimar and Dhobi Ghat.

Gun battle and aerial firing continued in the city on Saturday, while unidentified people resorted to firing on law enforcement agencies and also fired a rocket on armoured personnel carrier of Pak Colony police station in the Old Golimar area, where Pak Colony SHO Naeem Khan and a policeman Aziz sustained injuries.

At least three people were killed and five sustained bullet wounds in a firing incident in Bihar Colony in Chakiwara police station limits. The victims killed in the incident belonged to the Katchi Memon community and were identified as Rizwan, 25, Hamid Sheikh, 38, and Yasir, 22; while the injured included Umer Siddiq, Sohail, Naseem, Anis and Choudhry Naseer.

According to area sources, the victims were sitting near a local teashop where unidentified men opened fire on them.

In another occurrence, Sajid Islamuddin, 25, was gunned down near Dhobi Ghat and a beheaded body of a 20-year-old boy was found from the Shedhi Village in Kalakot police station limits.

Earlier, during the wee hours of Saturday, two bodies were found near the KMC workshop in Risala police station limits. The victims were said to be Baloch and were identified as Shakir, 23, and Amir, 25, who were residents of Lyari.

Soon after that, another bullet-riddled body of a teenager Nawaz Ali, also a Baloch and a resident of Lyari, was found from Aram Bagh police post limits. According to sources in Lyari, Shakir, Amir and Nawaz Ali were not affiliated with any party or group and had been kidnapped by armed culprits.

In another incident in the Chakiwara area, at least three people sustained injuries when unidentified suspects resorted to aerial firing in different areas of Lyari.

They were taken to hospital where one of them, Jalil, 30, succumbed to injures during treatment. In a similar incident of target killing, an activist of the Punjabi Student Association was gunned down in Alfalah police station limits.

Law enforcers claimed to have arrested over 50 suspected people during separate search operations in different areas. On the other hand, sources in different areas claimed that people detained by the police were all innocent and police took them into custody when they were on their way to work. According to unconfirmed reports, the police later released them. When contacted, the police were not available to confirm these reports.

Violence continues on third consecutive day

http://www.thenews.com.pk

Sunday, January 10, 2010

By By Salis bin Perwaiz

Karachi

As many as 40 suspects allegedly involved in the violence that has gripped many parts of the city were rounded up on Saturday during an operation conducted by law enforcement agencies (LEA) personnel in Lyari.

The alleged criminals were rounded up from Miraan Naka, Singo Lane, Umer Lane, Shah Baig Lane, Dubai Chowk and Tenery Road.

Residents of Lyari, however, protested the detentions, alleging that the police and Rangers had arrested innocent people, who were sitting outside their houses or passing through the street. They charged that the arrests were made because LEA officials wanted to “save their skin,” while criminal elements were still roaming around with impunity, and the police and Rangers were reluctant to arrest them.

Despite the arrests, the situation in Lyari and Liaquatabad towns remained tense on a third consecutive day. Four people were shot dead in Lyari, while several others, including the station house officer (SHO) of Pak Colony police station, were injured during various incidents. Sources said that seven people were also abducted by unidentified gangsters from Lyari, of which, two were reportedly recovered in an injured condition.

Eyewitnesses and police sources said that on Saturday morning, when the family members of two men, Amir Rabbani and Rashid (who were also the members of the Aman Committee), were offering their funeral prayers in Pak Colony, when unidentified armed men started indiscriminate aerial firing.

A heavy contingent of police and Rangers, present near the funeral service, tried to control the situation, but the armed men fired back at them, injuring Pak Colony SHO Inspector Naeem Khan, Head Constable (HC) Aziz, and police constables (PCs) Mohammed Rashid and Mohammed Saeed.

The injured were shifted to the hospital, and were under treatment. According to unconfirmed reports, HC Aziz passed away during treatment, while other reports have claimed that he was still in a critical condition.

Following the incident, a heavy contingent of police and Rangers encircled the area, and brought the situation under control. However, the armed men managed to flee.

Meanwhile, on Saturday evening, armed gangsters in Lyari, under the supervision of gangster Mulla Latif, arrived at Jamia Masjid Road, Bihar Colony in Chakiwara police limits, and started indiscriminate firing at some shops in the area. Two men, identified as Yasir and Rizwan, died on the spot, while six others were also injured.

The police later reached the scene of crime, but despite the encounter that followed, the gangsters managed to escape. The deceased and the injured were shifted to the hospital, where one man, Sheikh Hamid, succumbed to his injuries.

Residents of the area said that the three men who were killed were close friends, and residents of the same area. They narrated that Hamid ran a cosmetic shop in Bihar Colony, while Yasir worked with him. The two were sitting at their shop when the gangsters, including Mulla Latif, started firing. Both were unmarried.

The other deceased, Rizwan, was an electrician by profession, and was running his electric shop in Bihar Colony, Chakiwara. The deceased’s family said that Rizwan’s maternal uncle, Ejaz alias Papu, was also killed by gangsters, and was an activist of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), while Rizwan himself was just a supporter of the party, the family sources said.

Another man, Sajid, was recovered from Usmanabad in an injured state, but succumbed to his injuries while under treatment. On Saturday, he had come to Dhobi Gath to meet his relatives, when armed men kidnapped and tortured him, before shooting at him and ditching him. He was later shifted to the hospital, but he died while under treatment. The deceased was a resident of Mehmoodabad, and a scrap dealer by profession.

Till the filing of this report, the situation in Lyari remained tense.

18 killed in 2 days in Lyari, Karachi

http://www.samaa.tv

08 Jan 10

By Imtiaz Shah, Nazish Ayaz

KARACHI: Total 18 people have been killed in Lyari in last two days. Five people have been killed after Jumah prayers in Dhobi Ghat Friday.

Heavy contingent of police and rangers have reached in the area as the situation could be tackled. The situation is tense in various areas of Lyari and people have been limited to their homes.

Shops and markets in Garden, Dhobi Ghat and in other areas have been closed soon after violence erupted.

13 KILLED IN LYARI VIOLENCE

At least 13 people were killed and 14 others injured in the recent Lyari violence on Thursday.

The violence erupted after Amir’s dead body was found in the Kalakot area.

Police and rangers have been deployed in various tense areas. Shops and markets have been closed in Garden, Ranchor Line and other adjacent areas.

The federal interior ministry has taken notice of the incident. SAMAA

Ethnic riots : People confined to their localities

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk

10 01 2010

KARACHI: The three days of bloodshed and violence have compelled the people residing in affected areas to stay put and not go out of their localities.

The people of Lyari and Baloch dominated affected areas are afraid to leave their localities and go to work, as they fear that if they will go in an area where Urdu speaking community resides then they would be sitting ducks. Same is the case for the Urdu speaking community that if they come to Lyari and Baloch dominated affected areas then the Baloch will not leave them.

The Baloch are afraid to enter the areas where Mohajir dwell while Mohajirs are afraid to go to the areas where Balochs live.

Day by day, the local or uninvolved people residing in these areas, especially in Lyari are going against not only the political parties like the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Pakistan People’s Party but also against gangsters and Lyari Peace Committee.

On Saturday, two rallies were held in Lyari Town, one by the residents of the area with the support of PPP while another by the Baloch National Party. The participants of the rallies having the flags of Baloch Liberation Army, Baloch Student Organisation, Baloch Republican Party, Jamhori Watan Party and BNP strongly condemned such incidents going on since the last three days that claimed so many innocent lives on ethnic basis and also created troubles for the residents.

In the rallies, they also criticised the government and the leadership of the two said political parties and chanted slogans against them over their failure to stop or control the deadly violence.

It has been learnt that exchange of fire between the participants and law enforcers also took place in which some six to seven people including women sustained injures and were rushed to the hospital. Police detained some 53 people on suspicion of disrupting peace. Upon this an enraged crowd surrounded the Baghdadi police station demanding the release of the innocent citizens.

Residents of Lyari said that the political rivalry between the PPP and MQM has landed the locals of Lyari into trouble as the current target killing changed the political dispute into an ethnic conflict.

They added that the recent turmoil was raising the level of fear and panic among the residents because rival group’s workers started killing innocent people in retaliation. Now the local people are also getting involved in killings of the people belonging to rival ethnicity.

They pointed out that operatives of Lyari gangs became a part of the law enforcers and restricted people of the area to go out, which also angered the residents. faraz khan

KARACHI, Jan 9: Nine people were killed in targeted killings in Karachi on Saturday, raising tensions between the People’s Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement as the latter threatened to quit the ruling coalition both at the centre and in Sindh.

A total of 27 people have lost their lives in the violence that erupted on Thursday.

The aggravation prompted the prime minister to get in touch with MQM chief Altaf Hussain and the Sindh governor convened a meeting on Sunday of all parties concerned to deliberate on corrective measures.

Gunbattles and aerial fire shook large swathes of the city’s old quarter and even security personnel came under fire.

Two policemen were injured when an armoured personnel carrier was attacked in Pak Colony.

The situation in Lyari, Pak Colony, Ranchore Lines, Garden and Kharadar was described as tense by law enforcement agencies.

The three-day death toll of the recent targeted killings reached 27, while nine people were killed in the third consecutive day in various areas of the city.

At least two people were killed while four others sustained bullet wounds in a firing incident at Agra Taj Colony. The victims killed in the incident were identified as Rizwan and Yasir while the injured as Siddiq, Sohail, Naseem and Hanif.

Sajid, 25, was gunned down near Dhobi Ghhat, Kalakot. He was said to be a resident of Mehmoodabad area and used to work as a scrap dealer.

Two bodies were found near a KMC workshop and rushed to Civil Hospital Karachi. The dead were identified as Shakir (23) and Amir (25), residents of Bakra Piri, Lyari.

Another bullet-riddled body was found near Aram Bagh. The deceased was identified as Nawaz Ali (20), resident of Lyari. The body was shifted to the Civil Hospital, Karachi, and later handed over to the family.

Police said that deceased were associated with Lyari Peace Committee and were killed after kidnapping from different areas. A person was killed in Chakiwara area while at least three people sustained injuries when unidentified suspects opened aerial fire in different areas of the Lyari.

The victims were rushed to Civil Hospital Karachi where a man identified as Jalil, 30, succumbed injuries during treatment. The similar incident of target killing had also taken place within the limits of Al-Falah police limits where an activist of Punjabi Student Association was shot dead by unknown armed men.

Following the incident, riots broke out and miscreants pelted stones on passing vehicles and torched a car at Kahkshan Society, Malir while heavy contingents of police and rangers rushed on the spot and controlled the law and order situation but commercial and private life remain suspended because of the tense situation.

Fear grips Karachi as nine people shot dead

www.dawn.com

Sunday, 10 Jan, 2010

RALLY: Residents of Lyari, a constituency dominated by the Pakistan People’s Party, took out a rally against the Sindh government and criticized PPP leadership over the law and order situation.

Baloch nationalist organisations and local leaders of Pakistan People’s Party from Lyari staged a protest against Sindh Government and took out a rally from Baghdadi area and moved forward across the Lyari including Atth Chock, Mira Naka, Chakiwara, Dohbi Gath.

Participants of the rally chanted slogans against Sindh Government and PPP while alleged that law enforcers were targeting and arresting the innocent people of Lyari on the directives of Governor House.

It has been learnt that exchange fire between the participants of rally and law enforcement agencies also took place in which some six to seven people sustained injuries and were rushed to the hospital while enraged crowed cordoned off the Baghdadi police station where police detained some 53 innocent citizens. -PPI

~ par Alain Bertho sur 10 janvier 2010.

Publié dans émeutes, riots