Bloodshed adds up to city’s woes

Youth dies in cross fire between two rival groups

LAHORE:

The scourge of violence marred life in the provincial capital last week

These incidents of violence claimed many lives.

They ranged from incidents in which a man and his two sons were killed by his son-in-law to the double murder over a property dispute in Mozang to the death of a college student who had been “accidentally” shot dead by her cousin.

There was not a single day during the whole week in which a violent dispute had not claimed a human life.

The week started off with a man Shahzeb opening fire on his father-in-law and his two sons after his wife refused to return home. All 

The incident was nothing less than a tragedy.

The victims had arrived home from abroad recently, and it was supposed to be a family reunion for them. Alas, they met with such a tragic end.

The ill-fated man Hamid Shah and his son Fakhar had reportedly been working in South Africa. They had returned home 10 days back. The third victim Shah Rukh had been studying in Turkey and had returned home three days back.

Hamid Shah’s daughter Aqsa had been living in Rajgarh, Lahore, with the suspect for the last few years.

On Tuesday, a teenage girl reportedly left her home telling her family members that she was going to college. However, she ended up dead at the house of her cousin in Harbancepura.

The victim, along with her two male cousins and a female friend, instead of going to college had gathered at a cousin’s house for a party.

One of her cousins, Tahir, brought a handgun with him with the intention of showing off before his cousin.

In an act that can only be described as insane, he pointed the handgun at her cousin to “intimidate her” and “accidently” pulled the trigger off and that was it. The girl died instantly.

On Wednesday, unidentified suspects reportedly barged into a house in Mangamandi and opened fire on 35-year-old Kiran and her 65-year-old mother Azizan Bibi.

Read Two alleged robbers shot dead by villagers

Kiran died on the spot while Azizan Bibi died at a nearby hospital.

The same day, a man Jaffer Bhatti was shot at and injured by some unidentified suspects at Kot Lakhpat. The victim was riding a bike when he was targeted.

On Thursday, a teenager Mohsin, who had received bullet injuries a few days back in Kahna, died during treatment at the Lahore General Hospital.

The same day, a man Zahoor was stabbed to death in Mohalnwala by suspect Aftab reportedly over a domestic dispute.

Aftab was the nephew of the wife of Zahoor.

On Friday, another violent incident claimed lives of two people and left two injured in Mozang.

The deceased and the one who got injured were just passersby and had nothing to do with the dispute whatsoever. The deceased Zeeshan was the son of a famous publisher. He was studying at a university.

He happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and accidentally got caught up in the quarrel of two parties who had had a dispute over a property matter.

The groups had gathered at an auto shop on Jail Road to settle the dispute.

However, their tempers flared up during the talks so much so that suspects Shahzad, Mashood, Khuram and Umar resorted to firing, injuring Zeeshan and three others.

On Saturday, a man stabbed his former daughter in-law over a minor dispute in the Factory Area. Reportedly, the victim, Um-e-Farwa, bumped into the suspect Imran.

They exchanged harsh words with each other. This infuriated Imran who attacked Farwa.

On Sunday, a man Manwan was shot dead and his brother injured by a cousin of theirs over a dispute over irrigation water in the provincial capital.

In another incident in Naseerabad, a man was shot at and another injured over a dispute on old enmity in Naseerabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2021.