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| India-Pakistan |
| Eight killed as violence flares up in Karachi |
| 2010-01-31 |
| [Dawn] At least eight persons -- six alone in Qasba Colony and its neighbouring Orangi Town area -- were killed on Saturday, apparently as fallout of a late-night armed clash between two political parties in the ruling coalition, paralysing life and forcing a business shutdown in the vicinity. The latest wave of violence served as a grim reminder of the targeted killings that claimed the lives of more than 40 people -- most of them associated with different political parties -- earlier this month, as the commitment made by the ruling parties and the determination promised by the law-enforcers failed to materialise. The daylong incidents of firing and killing were triggered when unidentified armed men opened fire in Ghazi Mohallah, within the remit of the Mominabad police station, killing Tooti Khan, said to be in his early 20s, and wounding 37-year-old Riaz Ahmed. Both victims were residents of Sohrab Goth and had come to the area for business. A few minutes later, a shooting incident in Bukhar Colony killed 35-year-old Rasool Khan within the remit of the Bukhar Colony police station. Though the police said they were not clear about the background of the dead, an area resident said the victim was associated with the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf. Two bodies of young men were also found on the Shabad Ground in Sector 13 of Orangi Town. The dead were later shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors found a single bullet wound each in the heads of the victims. "Their ages ranged from 25 to 30 years, and they were hit from a very close range," said an official at the health facility. "We received the dead bodies at around 2pm and their conditions suggest they were killed at least three to four hours before the autopsy." Officials at the Orangi Town police station said the two victims remained unidentified as the area people did not recognise them. "It seems that their bodies were dropped in that area after they had been killed somewhere else," said an official at the police station. In a similar incident, police found the body of a young man on the Aqsa Ground in Sector L of Orangi Town. The body bore multiple bullet wounds. Thirty-three-year-old Sajid Ali was killed in Liaquatabad when two men riding a motorbike targeted him as he was coming out of a bakery near his home, police said. "His body has been shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and there are no further details available about him and his family," said an official at the Super Market police station. Life was paralysed by intense firing in Orangi Town, Bukhar Colony, Pirabad and Qasba Colony. A bus of route G-27 was set on fire in Block L of Orangi Town by unidentified arsonists. In Manghopir, 35-year-old Fahim Wajih was shot dead when he was leaving his showroom. A resident of Garden East, the victim was targeted and killed by two men riding a motorbike. Though both the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) condemned the killings, and blamed unnamed political parties for the fresh wave of violence, the police authorities see no solution to frequent killings until de-weaponisation of the city. "We have been pursuing the proposal to review the law about the possession of illegal weapons and to devise a mechanism to seize such arms," said capital city police officer (CCPO) Waseem Ahmed, who confirmed seven people were killed in the fresh violence. He said the availability of arms in the city would never be capped until a campaign against illegal weapons was launched. However, the parties in the coalition government evaded the issue of de-weaponisation when it was mentioned to them. "An ethnic party is causing harassment to Urdu-speaking people, mainly in the Qasba Colony and Orangi Town areas," said a statement issued by the MQM quoting the party's legislators in the national and provincial assemblies. "They killed an MQM worker on Friday night, and we demand that the prime minister, federal interior minister and chief minister order action against the killers." Similar concerns were expressed by the ANP, which blamed a political party for the recent lawlessness in the city. "In Qasba Colony, Aligarh and other parts of the city the same people were targeting and killing Pakhtuns," said a party spokesman. "The victims were poor people such as labourers and were on their way to work when gunmen of a political party gunned them down for no reason." |
| Posted by:Fred |