Trigger happy snipers had another field day on Monday when they targeted and killed 12 more people in a continued wave of violence in the city. The escalation in violence came only hours after the police issued shoot-on-sight orders.
The day after Awami National Party’s Liaquat Bangash alias Liaquat Tension died in a raid, Gulistan-e-Jauhar turned into a battleground. A party worker and woman were killed while half a dozen people were injured in a clash between ANP and a local gang, allegedly led by a man known as Muddasir. The violence erupted when men in Pehlwan Goth and Safoora Goth started firing at each other. Imdad Hussain, 27, and a 40-year-old woman, Gulshan, were killed in the crossfire while six others were injured. They were taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.
According to the ANP, the situation escalated when a group of people who had gotten together to mourn were attacked by the gang. “We had a feeling that Bangash had been kidnapped and tortured,” said ANP’s Bashir Jan. “Now we’re not so sure. It is the responsibility of the law enforcement agencies to investigate the case and find out who did it.”
A heavy contingent of Rangers and the police were sent to control the situation. Around a dozen suspects were arrested.
A former ANP worker, recently associated with the Muttahida Organising Committee, was gunned down with a friend in Sherpao Colony, said the Quaidabad police. SHO Amanullah Marwat said that the man was identified as Afsar Khan, 45, and his friend was identified as Zubair Khan, 30. They were sitting at Khan’s scrap shop when two men on a motorcycle opened fire at them.
A leader of the Swat Qaumi Ittehad, identified as 68-year-old Sher Ali, was shot dead outside his house, said the Pirabad police. SHO Ashfaq Baloch said that the victim’s brother, who belonged to Amn Lashkar, was also killed in Karachi.
In an unrelated incident, unidentified men shot and killed a 52-year-old man, identified as Ghulam Mohammad Ameen, in Nazimabad. DSP Shahid Abbas said that the victim was a trustee of the Noor-e-Eemaan Imambargah and was killed as he was standing outside it. The officer added that the victim was a prayer-leader at the Imambargah and may have been targeted because of his sect. Tension prevailed in the area after the killing and commercial activities had to be halted.
A security guard of former federal minister, Syed Zia Abbas, was injured in firing near Bhains Colony, said the Shah Latif police. The guard, Dilawar, was accompanying the former minister and his son as they were headed back to their home in Defence from Malir. Two armed men tried to intercept the car and opened fire when the former minister’s son, who was driving, did not stop. DSP Rao Iqbal said that Dilawar was taken to South City Hospital in Clifton. The officer said that the initial investigation has led law enforcers to believe that the culprits wanted to rob the ex-minister and that further investigation was underway.
Another man was shot dead in North Karachi. His body was taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
An activist of Sunni Tehreek was criticlly injured in Khudadad Colony and rushed to Jinnah hospital.
Bodies found
The bodies of three young men were found inside a car parked on Mirza Adam Khan Road in Lyari, said the Chakiwara police. The victims were identified as Atif Usmani, Mohammad Ejtabah and Hasan Raza. The law enforcers said that the victims belonged to the Muttahida Quami Movement and their bodies had been placed inside gunny bags.
The bodies of two men were found in New Karachi, said the Bilal Colony police. The victims, 40-year-old Ameer Barkat and 22-year-old Ismail, were residents of Sohrab Goth. SHO Ilyas Shah said that both victims were the members of a dacoit group and unidentified men shot and killed them before throwing away the bodies.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2012.
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