[Dawn] A worker of the Pakistain Mohammedan League-Functional was rubbed out while three others were maimed in an armed attack on a party office in the Ayub Goth area of New Bloody Karachi...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
on Monday, police and party sources said.
"The attack followed by festivities between the workers of the PML-F and Muttahida Qaumi Movement
...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead...
," said the SHO of the Sohrab Goth cop shoppe.
The festivities broke out between the two political parties over hoisting of flags, the police said, adding that subsequently, gunnies attacked the PML-F, which resulted in the killing of Abdullah Gopang, 45.
The maimed were identified as Zaheer, 25, Ali Murad, 16, and Abdul Sattar, 30.
PML-F leader Aijaz Soomro said that three men armed with Kalashnikov rifles stormed into their election office for PS-126 and opened indiscriminate firing on the people there.
Aijaz, whose brother Shahid Soomro is contesting elections from the provincial assembly seat, said that the dear departed was the party's senior vice president of Gadap Town.
The body and the maimed victims were shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, respectively.
"Such incidents showed that the election commissioner and the caretaker government set-up are not making sufficient efforts to curb the killings and ensure peaceful polls," he said.
Speaking to Dawn, an official in charge of the Ayub Goth police post said that the PML-F leaders have nominated four persons in the case pertaining to the murder of their activist and wounding three others. "The suspects are Hanif alias Pachpan, Asghar alias Tedi, Naushad and Faizan," he said, adding that they were activists of the MQM according to the PML-F.
Road leading to MQM head office closed
Police on Monday closed a main road from Ayesha Manzil to Gulshan-e-Iqbal for public to provide maximum security to the Nine Zero headquarters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, said SSP-Central Amir Farooqui.
The decision was taken in the wake of twin kabooms near the MQM's stronghold on Saturday that claimed lives of three persons.
The commuters have been advised to take alternative routes.
Fear, panic in Lyari
...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot....
schools
Police, ambulances and a bomb disposal squad rushed to Lyari when calls were received about the presence of bombs in three schools.
The schools were subsequently vacated and after a thorough search, the team cleared the school buildings, said an official of the bomb disposal squad, Sabir Durrani.
All the schools were owned by one person, he added.