Dialling it back: ‘Only’ 6 dead as violence abates

Aerial firing continues to be reported from some neighbourhoods.


Express July 11, 2011

KARACHI:


Though the worst is decidedly over, some parts of the city, such as Orangi remained tense as six more people, including a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) man died on Sunday.


As expected, areas that bore the brunt of the violence were still on edge. Qasba Colony, Aligarh, Bukhari Colony, Zia Colony, Quaid-e-Azam Colony, Essa Nagri, Hassan Square and Old Sabzi Mandi echoed with gunfire intermittently.

Lyari was uneasy as well after rumours of an attack on a MQM office surfaced. Officials rubbished the reports, claiming that no office was targeted. They explained that a hand grenade was found at Agra Taj Masjid Road in Kalri police limits. Police and the bomb disposal squad reached the scene and defused it.

Lyari SP Pervez Iqbal Bhatti told The Express Tribune that the hand grenade was Russian made and was found inside a government secondary school. The watchman found it when he went inside to clean and told the residents who, in turn, told the police. The policeman said that the grenade appeared to have been thrown at the school two or three days ago and had not been found as it was closed for the summer.

Separately, in Paposh Nagar, 50-year-old Talat was killed in a drive-by shooting near the area’s graveyard. Police said that the victim was from Dir Colony and used to run a clothes shop in the Paposh Nagar market. He was on the way there when two armed men shot him.

The body of an unidentified 22-year-old man was found near ZMC ground, Orangi in Mominabad police limits. Officials said that the victim was beaten up before he was killed. A 35-year-old unidentified woman was also found near the Super Highway within the limits of Sachal police station. She had been beaten and then shot five times. Her body was taken to the Sohrab Goth Edhi morgue for identification after a post-mortem at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

Orangi also had to deal with a clash between two groups that erupted in Aligarh Colony. Intense firing was reported but law enforcement agencies managed to keep the situation from getting out of hand and nobody was hurt. Orangi SP Khurram Waris assured The Express Tribune that, overall, the situation in Orangi Town was under control.

Despite the assurances, killings continue in Orangi as 45-year-old Mustafa was gunned down. DSP Maqsood told The Express Tribune that the victim was shot and killed near Qatar Mor in Orangi Town police limits. He said that the deceased was affiliated with the MQM but appears to have been killed over a personal enmity. His body was taken to Qatar Hospital.

Meanwhile, 32-year-old Mohammad Omar was killed in Musharraf Colony in Mauripur police limits. Police said that the victim was shot dead by his neighbour, Jamal Baloch and Kamal Baloch, for aerial firing at a wedding ceremony.

An unidentified young man was found dead at Firdous Colony. Gulbahar police said that the body was wrapped in cloth and had been beaten up before being shot twice. His body was taken to the Edhi morgue for identification.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Sindh office bearers went around some of the violence-hit areas, and chatted with shop keepers, who told them that after five days of constant blood-letting, life had somewhat returned to normal.

Separately, Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan members went to Katti Pahari and distributed groceries to 400 families.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11th, 2011.

COMMENTS (1)

Hedgefunder | 12 years ago | Reply

The very idea of "ONLY" in any sentance with deaths involved is plentyful !!!!

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