Karachi descends into new round of violence
PAKISTAN - 25 JULY 2010
KARACHI: Parts of the city remained tense on Saturday amid sporadic incidents of firing and arson in which at least three persons were killed and nearly a dozen others wounded as the violence that had erupted after a deadly attack on the Gulistan-i-Jauhar office of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement spread to other localities.
The day began with a tense situation in Gulistan-i-Jauhar and parts of Gulshan-i-Iqbal and businesses remained closed with transport staying off the roads amid frequent rattle of gunfire that compelled people to stay indoors.
A minibus was destroyed in an arson attack in Gulistan-i-Jauhar on the main road linking University Road with Block 17 of the area, aggravating the situation.
An hour later a bus (JE-9284) was set on fire in Surjani Town near Abdullah Mor, close to Sector 7-A, that was followed by gunfire that led to the closure of businesses in the area. Another minibus was set ablaze near the Nazimabad underpass and a passenger coach near the meteorological office on University Road.
Since last night (Friday) we have reports of four vehicles having been set on fire, said an official at the central fire station. A market of second-hand furniture in Pehlawan Goth and a police mobile in Gulistan-i-Jauhar were set on fire in the early hours of the day. In 12 hours, the total number of burnt vehicles was five. Besides, a roadside teashop, a dry-cleaner shop and used furniture market shop have been hit in arson attacks. Later, gunfire started rattling different parts of the city. In the first incident a cobbler was shot dead in New Karachi while he was busy mending shoes.
Twenty-five-year-old Saeed Khan was targeted by two men on a motorbike at his roadside stall in Sector 5-E, said an official at the Bilal Colony police station. The victim sustained two bullets and died on the spot. According to the deceaseds friends, he was a resident of the Bajaur Agency and shared a rented home with some other men. The body was later taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities.
In the second half of the day, three young friends sitting in a real estate office in Surjani Town were attacked by four gunmen on two motorbikes. The area police said that Pasha Luqman, Yasir Khan and Akbar Khan were hit by bullets fired from a very close range when gunmen attacked the Al-Jazeera Estate Agency in Khuda Ki Basti.
Pasha Luqman and Yasir Khan died on the spot while wounded Akbar, with two bullets lodged in the abdomen, was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment, where he was being operated upon, said an official at the Surjani Town police station. The exact reason behind the attack is not clear, but the area has been quite tense since Friday night and the fresh incident seems to be a link of the same chain.
Between two fatal firing incidents, armed attacks in different areas left nearly a dozen people wounded. Early in the morning a passenger coach was attacked in Baldia Town by three men on a motorbike that left five people, including a woman, wounded.
The coach was waiting for passengers at Baldia Town No 7, said an official at the Baldia Town police station. Three men on a motorbike came close and two of them got off the two-wheeler and fired multiple shots through the front of the vehicle. It shattered the windscreen and left Muhammad Saleem, 50, Nasreen, 40, Munawwar Khan, 26, conductor Umar Ghani, 25, and driver Nisar Hayat, 30, wounded.
Almost a similar incident was reported within the remit of the Korangi Industrial Area police station where a truck carrying three men was attacked when it was moving across the Malir riverbed after loading sand.
Firing by armed motorcyclists left Fida Hussain, Waseem and Shaharyar, who all are their early 30s, wounded. They all have been shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for treatment, said an official at the KIA police station.
ANP workers booked
Meanwhile, police registered an FIR against workers of the Awami National Party for killing a Muttahida Qaumi Movement worker in an armed attack on the partys Gulistan-i-Jauhar office.
The fresh dispute between the coalition partners seemed to be deepening when a wounded activist of the MQM, Azhar Ali, named ANP workers for the deadly attack on the party office in Block 17 in an FIR (703/2010) registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempted murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The FIR nominates Liaquat Bangash, Qadir Bangash, Haroon and an unknown person, said an official at the Sharea Faisal police station. They are all said to be associated with the ANP and live in Gulistan-i-Jauhar. No arrest has yet been made, but definitely efforts would be made in line with the defined laws.
He said another FIR (704/2010) was registered under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon) and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the PPC against unidentified persons on behalf of the state.
Source: DAWN Media Group
PAKISTAN - 25 JULY 2010
KARACHI: Parts of the city remained tense on Saturday amid sporadic incidents of firing and arson in which at least three persons were killed and nearly a dozen others wounded as the violence that had erupted after a deadly attack on the Gulistan-i-Jauhar office of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement spread to other localities.
The day began with a tense situation in Gulistan-i-Jauhar and parts of Gulshan-i-Iqbal and businesses remained closed with transport staying off the roads amid frequent rattle of gunfire that compelled people to stay indoors.
A minibus was destroyed in an arson attack in Gulistan-i-Jauhar on the main road linking University Road with Block 17 of the area, aggravating the situation.
An hour later a bus (JE-9284) was set on fire in Surjani Town near Abdullah Mor, close to Sector 7-A, that was followed by gunfire that led to the closure of businesses in the area. Another minibus was set ablaze near the Nazimabad underpass and a passenger coach near the meteorological office on University Road.
Since last night (Friday) we have reports of four vehicles having been set on fire, said an official at the central fire station. A market of second-hand furniture in Pehlawan Goth and a police mobile in Gulistan-i-Jauhar were set on fire in the early hours of the day. In 12 hours, the total number of burnt vehicles was five. Besides, a roadside teashop, a dry-cleaner shop and used furniture market shop have been hit in arson attacks. Later, gunfire started rattling different parts of the city. In the first incident a cobbler was shot dead in New Karachi while he was busy mending shoes.
Twenty-five-year-old Saeed Khan was targeted by two men on a motorbike at his roadside stall in Sector 5-E, said an official at the Bilal Colony police station. The victim sustained two bullets and died on the spot. According to the deceaseds friends, he was a resident of the Bajaur Agency and shared a rented home with some other men. The body was later taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities.
In the second half of the day, three young friends sitting in a real estate office in Surjani Town were attacked by four gunmen on two motorbikes. The area police said that Pasha Luqman, Yasir Khan and Akbar Khan were hit by bullets fired from a very close range when gunmen attacked the Al-Jazeera Estate Agency in Khuda Ki Basti.
Pasha Luqman and Yasir Khan died on the spot while wounded Akbar, with two bullets lodged in the abdomen, was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment, where he was being operated upon, said an official at the Surjani Town police station. The exact reason behind the attack is not clear, but the area has been quite tense since Friday night and the fresh incident seems to be a link of the same chain.
Between two fatal firing incidents, armed attacks in different areas left nearly a dozen people wounded. Early in the morning a passenger coach was attacked in Baldia Town by three men on a motorbike that left five people, including a woman, wounded.
The coach was waiting for passengers at Baldia Town No 7, said an official at the Baldia Town police station. Three men on a motorbike came close and two of them got off the two-wheeler and fired multiple shots through the front of the vehicle. It shattered the windscreen and left Muhammad Saleem, 50, Nasreen, 40, Munawwar Khan, 26, conductor Umar Ghani, 25, and driver Nisar Hayat, 30, wounded.
Almost a similar incident was reported within the remit of the Korangi Industrial Area police station where a truck carrying three men was attacked when it was moving across the Malir riverbed after loading sand.
Firing by armed motorcyclists left Fida Hussain, Waseem and Shaharyar, who all are their early 30s, wounded. They all have been shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for treatment, said an official at the KIA police station.
ANP workers booked
Meanwhile, police registered an FIR against workers of the Awami National Party for killing a Muttahida Qaumi Movement worker in an armed attack on the partys Gulistan-i-Jauhar office.
The fresh dispute between the coalition partners seemed to be deepening when a wounded activist of the MQM, Azhar Ali, named ANP workers for the deadly attack on the party office in Block 17 in an FIR (703/2010) registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempted murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The FIR nominates Liaquat Bangash, Qadir Bangash, Haroon and an unknown person, said an official at the Sharea Faisal police station. They are all said to be associated with the ANP and live in Gulistan-i-Jauhar. No arrest has yet been made, but definitely efforts would be made in line with the defined laws.
He said another FIR (704/2010) was registered under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon) and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the PPC against unidentified persons on behalf of the state.
Source: DAWN Media Group
