Lyari violence: Situation kept quiet — except for the gunshots

Police claim everything is under control, death toll reaches seven.

KARACHI:

The atmosphere in Lyari and its surrounding areas remained tense as the violence continued on Tuesday.

Members of the Katchi Rabita Committee (KRC) and the defunct Peoples Amn Committee (PAC) clashed on Monday and the ongoing violence has claimed at least seven lives so far. Law enforcement agencies skirted the most affected areas while residents began moving to safer locations.

Khadda market, Moosa Lane, Shah Abdul Bhittai Road, Ghanchi Para, Nayabad, Daryabad, Agra Taj Colony, Kalakot and Singu Lane echoed with gunfire. Markets were closed, leading to a halt in the area’s commercial activities. Meanwhile, half a dozen people from both sides were reportedly abducted and killed. Residents hid themselves away in their houses with food supplies rapidly running out.

A man and an elderly woman were injured shortly after the violence erupted on Monday. They succumbed to their injuries at Civil hospital. Separately, the body of a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) supporter was found from Kalakot. He appeared to have been beaten up, while a young man was shot dead in Agra Taj Colony, Kalri. A KRC office was set on fire in Moosa Lane, Baghdadi.

There have been no arrests yet and reports suggest that the police have not been ordered to conduct an operation against troublemakers.

Lyari SP Pervez Iqbal Bhatti, however, claimed that the situation was much better and routine activities had been restored. He told The Express Tribune that only two people had been killed in two days while four were injured. He also said that policemen have been deployed in the affected areas but have yet to arrest anyone. The SP was very diplomatic when it came to answering questions about whether the police would conduct an operation.

“Just pray,” he said. “We will also get an opportunity to vent. These things keep happening anyway, just as long as our country and its people are alright.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2011.