Women, children gather in Karachi lynching site to pray for victims

Dozens of women and children assembled outside Illahi Masjid in the poverty-stricken Machar Colony slum where two telecom employees were lynched by the mob on Friday.

The area residents who seemed traumatized and afraid of police raids arranged Quran Khwani and ddua for Aiman Saeed and Ishaq Panwhar.

They also carried banners with slogans that read "all residents in the areas were ashamed of the incident."

"It was a terrible incident and unfortunately took place in our area," commented Tahir Bengali. "We all condemn and demand the government to trace the real culprits involved in the lynching," he added.

Karachi's largest slum, covering an area of approximately 4.5 square kilometres, Machar Colony, also known as Muhammadi Colony, is home to an estimated one million residents, a majority of whom are Bengali and Burmese. Their main income is from shrimp peeling and fishing – hence, the name 'Machar', which is derived from Machera (fishermen). The narrow streets are carpeted with garbage, rotting fruit, and animal carcasses which are left open, only to be covered with a thick blanket of flies and mosquitoes.

Fear prevails in the area and the majority of the men in the narrow streets around the mosque have either been detained by law enforcement agencies or have escaped due to fear of arrests as police cast a wide net to catch the real perpetrators of the brutal killings.

"Police have also held innocent people," a lady told The Express Tribune. "Police have detained my brother for the last two days and I cannot prove his innocence," she said, adding her brother was not present at the time of the incident.

Also read: Two telecom workers lynched in Karachi's Machhar Colony over kidnapping rumours

A few young men present at the crime scene told The Express Tribune that even street women were afraid of joining the prayer session for the deceased.

"We have come here from other niegbhourhood to condemn the incident that has brought a curse to all this area," commented Abdul Sattar.

Another man said that the area where the incident took place is also called Jungle Gali due to its notoriety as a hot spot for criminals and drug peddlers. "But it is not a no-go area," he maintained.

The women said that around 100 men have been arrested and locked up in the Docks Police Station. Those who could afford to pay the bribe were released immediately.

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"A few men involved in the lynching have been held while others have left the city even the country," another man claimed. He said that some of the families have also left for other areas in fear of increasing raids.

Illahi Masjid Imam Khalil Ahmed said in a video statement, “there was no announcement from the mosque before the lynching." He also claimed that he spoke to the employees before they were tortured to death by the mob. "I told them to come to my place (Hujra) but they did not listen to me," he added.

He said that the false news was spread in the area that Imam held an announcement from the mosque to incite the residents to attack both men.

Docks police station SHO has stated that it was the mosque’s administrator who had alerted the police about the incident.