“The alarm bells had started ringing on May 11 when shipping containers and water tankers started appearing strategically around the Sindh High Court. The next morning judges had to use the walls to get in.
It was going to be a long, long day for the reporters as well.
9 am
A senior court reporter with an English daily newspaper reached the Sindh High Court with a colleague. Three white vehicles were parked at the main gate. Some youngsters present there told them to turn back as there was no work that day. “You can now go back home,” he quoted them as saying. He went to the other side of the court, which is called Judge’s gate and found the car of the chief justice of the Sindh High Court dented. Some people had attacked his car. “The chief justice had summoned the IG for protection, but the confused police chief showed reluctance, saying that the police alone could not control the situation,” he said.
10 am
TV reporter Mushtaq Sarki left home at 10am in Gulistan-e-Jauhar but when he reached Drigh Road, teenagers stopped him. “They threatened him by saying, ‘don’t go ahead’. I introduced myself and showed my press card, but they pulled out a gun.” He went back to Pehlwan Goth Chowrangi and thought it best to hitch a protective ride with the workers of another party. “But some men hiding in storm drain starting firing at them, killing Nawaz Kingrani of the Awami Tahreek,” he said. “As Nawaz was shot we ran to the police. The cops showed us the sticks in their hands and said they could not help us. They said, call 15. That man died.”
11am
According to Arbab Chandio who was working for Sindhi TV channel KTN, they came under fire near Malir where the office of the Sachal Rangers is located. Some political workers with flags were heading towards the airport when firing erupted from a rooftop. A Steel Mills official affiliated with the PML-N was killed. “My cameraman and I escaped and reached the gate of the Sachal Rangers but despite repeated requests, they did not open it. Some people were lying dead in the vehicle, which was burning because the fuel tank had leaked and a man in the car was crying for help.” After one hour, two Rangers jawans let them in.
1pm
The battle between political workers ensued at Baloch Colony Bridge on Shahrae Faisal near the office of Sindh TV. The channel broadcast how the suspects were loading guns and how others were supplying them ammunition to fire at processions going to the airport. “I was sitting in the office directing our reports in the field. Suddenly firing started when some [political] leaders were going to the airport,” said Akbar Jafferi, a senior reporter at the channel. “I have never ever seen such a brutal incident in my twenty years of field reporting,” he said. “The rescue workers were too frightened to come. The area was filled with the smell of gunfire.”
2pm
Urdu news channel Aaj TV came under attack when it started a live telecast of the unfolding events. Youngsters with party flags were firing at the Aaj office for about two hours.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 12th, 2012.
COMMENTS (14)
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@Salman Orangiwala: NBP has 3000 or more brnaches in the country but the tax of all these branches which does the buisnes all over paid by ii chundrigar road head office branch is nt that the a fact?
national refinary and pak arab refinary produced the oill and other products for the whole of the country but paid the tax in khi cause they based here (refinaries usualy based in port towns) same as steel mill and there is a long list.... like i said before yes khi paid the 68% of tax revenue BUT IT DOES NOT PRODUCE IN KHI.....
Why 12 May , waht about the planned massive scale carnage , rape mayhem post benazir death ?
@ Rafiq , Karachi generates the revenue and have been for the last 60 + yrs to feed and develop the rest of the country , have some gratitude .The GDP's service fragment bears the maximum from Karachi , in case you are not aware .
@ North Karachi , you and Munawar Hassan donot represent the Urdu speaking . As a matter of fact Jamatis donot at all ,they better accept the verdict and stop making mischieves .
@?{?: karachi does not feed the whole country 68% of tax recieve from khi is because most of the head offices of the big income tax payers have there head office in khi cause of the port bases economic activities but there services and manufacturing is based in all over the country, what i m saying khi does not produce these revenue but yes we recieve this from here this city does not feed the country economics has own ways to work out better understand then say.....
@ Ali S Yes Sham on me ... Thanks it’s easy for you .... how many innocent brother/sisters and relative you have lost. I’m in NO WAY justifying any think bro try read the comment again with a open mind. there are routs to every violance happens in this city. you have to cut the rout. otherwise it will be a non ending cycle.
Hate Hate Hate will do no good give due respect to the people who truly stand for and have care for the city. Ownership is the most important part " kamaoo khao hath jharoo do banday maraoo or abaee ailaky bag jaoo" will not do good.
This city is for all communities this city feed this country. So the people has to own it otherwise "bahana joo bhi hoo" 12th may, 27 oct, or 27 dec ... the only thing that will be laughing on our faces will be carnage
Which party flags? Same as the ones during the 1992 World Cup?
@am
it was the day when Karachi was turn in the war zone similarly like Palestine or Iraq.
@am: may 12th 2007. You must not live in karachi.
@?{?: Thanks to Army that they killed the most dangerous Indian trained consignment of terrorists. Had army not killed those Farooq dada, Arshad K-2, Faheem kankatta etc etc, the target killing which is currently going on would have been more and more severe. Same kind of unbiased merciless operation is again required in Karachi,,,need of time.
BTW I am an urdu speaking borned in Karachi and still living in Karachi with my family. Owh yes I had witnessed the 90's era.
@?{?:
So what happened in the 1990s is a justification for the May 12 killings? Shame on you. It's this kind of mentality that prevents this cycle of violence from ending.
I can't figere out which incident this report is pointing to.when did it happen?
if you never seen the a day like that in 20 years then you must be born in 1990 and will be a child when army use to drag innocent people out from there home. criminal living on the mountains of karachi use to open fire on bus which use to kill 20 to 30 people in one go. there were 30 to 40 people found dead on daily bases. People sitting outside karachi, and most of the kids in there early 20's will comment on this post. But Will never know and understand what karachi have seen in the 1990's........ Lets face the reality Karachi is denamic and very sensetive city. if you blam or put one community or party to the wall. killing of hummanity will never stop.
No one has named the the terrorist party involved in the bloodshed. it is reconciliation policy??