KARACHI, Dec 29: All businesses in the city remained closed for the second consecutive day after Benazir Bhutto’s assassination and fear ruled on Saturday with scattered incidents of violence that claimed half a dozen lives, taking the death toll of the spell of violence to over 30.
Lyari, a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) stronghold, witnessed the most violent incident since the murder of the former prime minister as hundreds of youths, most of them armed, stormed different markets and ransacked both private and public property.
The areas of Angorabad, which fall within the limits of the Kalri police station, which had remained comparatively calm during the earlier days’ violence, came under intense firing by unknown persons on Saturday. The incident was intense enough to require the intervention of the Pakistan Rangers.
“There are reports of two people who were killed in the firing,” said Fayyaz Khan, SP Lyari Town. “The victims’ identity and the exact cause of the incident are yet to be established. However, the protestors are spread all over the area so it is impossible to speculate upon the identity of the persons who died.” The people of the area, however, alleged that the people were killed as a result of firing by the Rangers. On the other hand, one of the area’s residents said that the area had been experiencing heavy fire from the morning and it was next to impossible to determine who the people involved were.
A Rangers spokesman denied any fatalities resulting from targeted fire by the force and claimed that the troops helped calm the situation down after a continuous effort of over three hours. “Our soldiers reached the spot and did their level best to disperse the miscreants,” he told Dawn. “We believe the deaths were the result of cross-fire exchanged by different groups. The area is sensitive and complex in terms of the law and order situation but we nevertheless were able to master the situation with effective planning.”
Arson and looting
Dozens of violent groups later surfaced in different parts of town and set four vehicles, two transformers and a grain godown on fire. Attempts were also made to break into banks in two areas and triggered clashes between the police and the miscreants, during which three people were injured.
According to eyewitnesses, a mob attempted to break into a branch of the First Women’s Bank, and a branch of the Habib Bank Limited, on Gul Mohammed Lane. While the arrival of the police thwarted the attempt, the mob nevertheless managed to remove an ATM machine from the HBL branch. The police saved the cash by dispersing the mob by resorting to aerial firing and shelling.
Similarly, hundreds of charge young men holding sticks stormed a market in Chakiwara, which houses dozens of godowns for grain and other commodities, and managed to break into a couple of stores. As the police reached the area, a hide and seek game began between the law enforcers and the rioters, during which the young men managed to nevertheless break into a couple of godowns before setting them on fire and leaving the scene.
Unconfirmed reports were received regarding the deaths of Nadim, Rehmat and an unidentified 10-year-old child in the Agra Taj, Baghdadi and Kalakot areas respectively. While police authorities refused to confirm the casualties, sources close to the Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) witnessed the registration of the incidents at the health facility.
In Korangi, more than a dozen armed persons gathered in a market close to Awami Colony, which lies within the limits of the Korangi Industrial Area police station. They tried to rob a shop after aerial firing during which a 28-year old passerby, Usman, was killed.
“There is a criminal element involved in the incident,” said Azad Khan, SP Landhi Town. “Such incidents were rare during the last two days but we have tightened security.”
The Ibrahim Hydri police station confirmed retrieving the body of another young man from Masco Exports, an Italian garment factory that was ransacked and set on fire by unknown persons on Friday, while some workers were still inside the production unit. After the discovery of the body of Saturday, the death toll of that particular incident rose to eight.
Meanwhile, traffic remained suspended across the city as a mere handful of petrol pumps dared resume business.
Police authorities believe that after three days of violence, the situation is resuming normality. They said that criminals, exploiting the situation after the Dec 27 assassination of Benazir Bhutto, had been far more active in the past two days.
“We have arrested over 300 people found involved in such activities,” Capital City Police Officer, Azhar Ali Farooqui, told Dawn. “We have not yet got an exact assessment of the losses to life and property but over 700 vehicles were set on fire while 20 people were reportedly killed in firing incidents during this time.”
However, the police assessment appears optimistic since the number of vehicles burnt during the three-day spell of violence appears to have crossed 1,000, while with the latest violence in Lyari, the death toll is feared to have crossed 30.
