Target killings: Five more die in Karachi

Five people killed in various firing incidents, three suspects arrested during search operation.

KARACHI:

Five people were killed in firing incidents in various areas of Karachi while three suspects were arrested during a search operation on Wednesday, reported Express 24/7.

Sources said that two bodies were recovered from Chawla market of Nazimabad area. The bodies have not been identified. One body was found in the Garden area, which was identified as Baldeep Singh.

Moreover, two people were killed, later identified as Tariq and Ahmed Baloch, when unidentified assailants opened fire near the PIB colony press quarters in the city.

Three suspects were also arrested as the police elite commandoes conducted a door-to-door operation in Hazara colony, Sadat colony, Shah Faisal no. 5 and Tanki Chowk.

Over, 2,500 elite force commandoes participated in the operation that lasted for two hours.

Updated from print version (below)

Like a tinderbox: Two more dead as Orangi takes up arms once more

At least seven more people, including an activist of Sunni Tehreek, were wounded in separate acts of violence in parts of Karachi on Tuesday. The most volatile area was Orangi Town where at least two people were killed and three others were wounded. Unidentified men also set a truck on fire.

Parts of Orangi Town including Katti Pahari, Gulfamabad, Aligarh Colony, Bukhari Colony, Muslimabad and Banaras were under a virtual lockdown as residents stayed inside their houses due to the continuous gunshots.

Law enforcers including Rangers and police were stationed in areas like Orangi Town but failed to curb the violence.

In Orangi Town, the gun battle began in Katti Pahari where unidentified men shot and killed Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) worker Noman.

He was shot in the head and died on the spot. Following the incident, intense firing was reported in parts of Orangi Town which resulted in the death of 18-year-old fruit vendor Darvaish. The firing also left Arshad Hussain, Sher Khan and 11-year-old Shazia wounded.

An Orangi Town police armoured personnel carrier (APC) was also attacked. The clash between two politico-ethnic groups caused a massive traffic jam in Orangi’s surrounding areas.

A loading truck and a shop were also set on fire by unidentified people in Gulfamabad.

An ST worker Ahmed Raza alias Tunta was killed on his way home in a rickshaw while two young men were gunned down in Sharae Faisal. The victims were identified as Bilal Hussain and Ghulam Mujtaba and belonged to a Shia sect.

Separately, the watchman of a private steel mill, Azizur Rehman, was gunned down in Mochko police limits. Twenty-five-year-old Malik Yaqoob alias Babar was found stuffed into a gunny bag. He had been kidnapped and killed after he came to Orangi Town to visit his mother.

Meanwhile, parts of Malir, Landhi and their surrounding areas including Aasu Goth, Mohabbat Nagar and Jaffer Tayar Society remained tense and two people - Essa and Buksh - were wounded in intense aerial firing.



Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2011.