Violence continued even today while MQM's delegation met president and haggling continued while MQMized goons kept holding Karachi on gunpoint to get a better deal.
.. on Monday that left four more people dead, nearly a dozen others wounded, around 25 vehicles torched and a private bank branch partially damaged, police and witnesses said.
The sudden and intense assaults, which were first reported in the east zone of the police organisational structure, gradually engulfed all major neighbourhoods, including residential and commercial areas, amid frequent incidents of firing and arson.
.. armed men riding a motorbike in the same area intercepted a truck (RIH-7793) loaded with construction material and gunned down its driver and his helper.
“The victims were identified as the 40-year-old driver, Mohammad Mir Hazara, and 35-year-old cleaner, Abdul Razzaq. Both were also paternal cousins,” said an official at the Awami Colony police station. The killings were carried out near Korangi Dar-ul-Uloom.
Amid intense firing, an unidentified youngster was found shot dead near Kamal Petrol Pump in Pak Colony. The body was shifted to the Civil Hospital Karachi, the area police said.
Same was the fate of a young man who was targeted by armed men riding a motorbike on Tariq Road. “The incident was witnessed near Edhi Centre on main Tariq Road. The victim was in his mid 20s and seemed to be a labourer by clothes and features. The body has been shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for want of identification,” SSP Amir Farooqi of Jamshed Town.
Figures gathered from the medico-legal sections of three major public hospitals — JPMC, Civil Hospital and the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital — indicated that at least 13 people were brought wounded to the hospitals. A couple of the victims were in their teens.
Nevertheless rampant firing was followed by arson attacks in different areas that paralysed city life. The intense firing and arson attacks on vehicles left hundreds of thousands of people stranded in traffic jams on roads.
Capital City Police Officer Saud Mirza confirmed to Dawn that some 25 vehicles were set on fire in different arson attacks though he claimed that police's timely intervention proved effective and the law-enforcers managed to arrest more than 100 suspects red-handed while they were engaged in arson and firing activities.
“We took several initiatives and managed to arrest some 103 suspects with arms and arson materials found in their possession,” the CCPO said.
He said he saw ethnic colour in the targeted attacks mainly on the buses and trucks. “We are hopeful about making more arrests as the arsonists targeted mostly minibuses and trucks owned by people from a particular ethnic background,” he said.
The police chief also said that the entire event seemed planned to trigger ethnic-based violence.
The facts gathered through the central fire station and police stations showed that three buses and a hi-roof van were torched in Landhi Town. A taxi was seen in flames near Malir 15. A minibus of route Z-18 was set on fire in Pak Colony. A private bus was set ablaze on University Road near Al-Mustafa Centre. Similarly, arsonists attacked a trailer near Al-Karam Square in Liaquatabad and a water tanker near Firdous Cinema in the same area.In Gizri area, armed men set fire to five vehicles — two cars, two buses and a minibus — within half-an-hour. In Nazimabad, a minibus of route N-4 was set ablaze near the Shamim Shaheed police post. A passenger coach was torched in Bilal Colony of New Karachi Town.
Three mini-trucks, one each in Gulshan-i-Shamim of Azizabad, at Water Pump and near Sindhi Hotel in Liaquatabad, were set on fire.
Most arson attacks were reported before the sunset, while scattered attempts were also made in the dark.
After the sunset, two more trucks were set on fire in Liaquatabad while a carpet showroom was seen in blazes in the Buffer Zone area.
A car was also set on fire on Mubarak Saeed Road in Jamshed Town in the late hours.
“A total of 44 fire tenders were used in firefighting,” said Chief Fire Officer Ehtashamuddin. “All the 20 stations in the city remained engaged in today`s operation as the incidents were reported in almost every district of the city. In most areas, we enjoyed police escort for the security purpose.”
He said a private bank branch near Lasbela was also targeted by arsonists but with the timely intervention by the area police the flames were prevented from engulfing the structure that helped firefighters to divert resources to other affected areas.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/03/violence-erupts-after-killing-of-muttahida-leader.html
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Violence erupted throughout the city as armed miscreants resorted to aerial firing and forced the closure of many shops. Fearing a further outbreak of violence, citizens left their work places and rushed for home. This caused massive traffic jams at various major arteries of the city including MA Jinnah Road and Sharea Faisal.
Armed men torched six vehicles in Korangi, Landhi and Shah Faisal Colony, two in Quaidabad, one at Urdu Science College, two in Liaquatabad, one in Saudabad as well as another in Malir, the miscreants also attacked a bus in the Garden area, injuring the driver, Aslam.
As the violence escalated, armed men attacked a truck opposite Darul Uloom Korangi and injured the driver Abdul Razzaq as well as the cleaner, Muhammad. The criminals set fire to the truck after carrying out the attack.
The police said that the incident took place within the Awami Colony police limits and that the victims suffered multiple bullet wounds. The injured were rushed to the hospital where they were both pronounced dead.
In yet another incident, a 25-year-old unidentified labourer was shot dead as he was passing through main Tariq Road. Firing continued to instill fear in the residents of Nazimabad, Liaqautabad, Sharifabad, Pak Colony and other areas. Armed men shot at a passerby named Kamran near the Noorani Masjid in Pak Colony.
The injured was rushed to the hospital where he succumbed to a single bullet wound in the head.
The deceased was a resident of Walaiyatabad, Pak Colony and a supporter of a political group. A case was reported at the police station. More cases of arson were also reported in the city as miscreants torched a contract bus and a coach in Khokharapar No-2, a truck in Liaquatabad, a Mazda Coach in Landhi No-6, a coach as well as a Suzuki pick-up in Landhi and two vehicles including a Hi-ace in Pak Colony area.
According to officials, a total of 27 vehicles were torched during the period when arsonists were running rampant, this included 15 Mazda buses. Most petrol pumps and markets of the city were forced to remain closed. Since there was no public transport on the roads, locals had great difficulty reaching their homes. —SBP
Most petrol pumps and markets of the city were forced to remain closed. Since there was no public transport on the roads, locals had great difficulty reaching their homes.
Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Saud Mirza while talking to The News said that the law enforcers had taken serious notice of the incident and he directed the force to conduct raids to apprehend those culprits involved in the violence that gripped the city. Within an hour, the raids were carried out and more than a 100 suspects allegedly involved in the various acts of violence were rounded up. CCPO Mirza said that raids were conducted in several parts of the city including Liaquatabad, Sharfiabad, Korangi and Landhi. During these operation, the police recovered arms, petrol bottles and other items used for arson. He added that the police had been given orders not to spare anyone involved in acts of arson.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=44832&Cat=4&dt=5/3/2011
Posted 1 year ago on 04 May 2011 0:25
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