Alleged encounter: Lyari goes silent as residents go on strike

KARACHI:

An unannounced strike was observed in Lyari on Monday following the killings of two alleged gangsters during an encounter. 

The two gangsters, Shahzad alias She, and Shakir Ali alias Shakir Dada, were killed during an alleged encounter with the Rangers and the police in Lyari on Sunday.

On Monday, announcements for the strike were made over loud speakers at the mosques.

"If they were criminals, they should have been produced before a court," said Friends of Lyari chairperson Habib Jan Baloch. He was of the view that a few high-ranking officials of the Rangers were behind the discrimination meted out to Lyari.

He demanded the elimination of "black sheep" in Rangers. On the other hand, a spokesperson for Rangers contradicted the allegations.

During the strike, all routine and commercial activities in Lyari came to a halt. "They [gangsters] warned us that they will blow up our shops with bombs if anybody tries to open them," said a shopkeeper.

"Strangely, when a prominent politician, Zafar Baloch, was killed, the gangsters did not force the closure of a single shop, but they forced us to close even medical stores now."

DSP Shakeel Ahmed said that the strike was peaceful and no untoward incident was reported. "In a few parts of Lyari, protesters burnt tyres to stage their protest." The situation returned to normalcy in the evening.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2013.