Targeted: Grenade attack injures three men in Boulton Market

Shopkeepers came out on MA Jinnah Road to protest city's law and order situation.

KARACHI: At least three people were wounded when alleged extortionists hurled a hand grenade in Boulton Market on Saturday. The attack also caused panic among the traders and shopkeepers, who shut down their businesses for hours to protest Karachi's poor law and order situation.

Two unidentified men riding a motorcycle threw a hand grenade at the main entrance of the Alam Cloth Market in Boulton Market at around noon on Saturday. As a result, three men — 55-year-old Abdul Bakar, 30-year-old Adnan Sattar and 25-year-old Abdullah — were wounded. They were taken to Civil Hospital, Karachi, for treatment.



Following the attack, traders and shopkeepers decided to shut down business and stage a protest on MA Jinnah Road against the incident as well as the failure of the law enforcement agencies to provide them protection. The protest caused a massive traffic jam in the area, which lasted for hours.

"The Rangers assured us of their full protection and warned us not to give in to the demands of the extortionists, but what became of their promises to return peace to the city and eliminate the menace of extortion?" asked Sadiq Ali, one of the shopkeepers. "Even now, when we are protesting, we are receiving threats via phone calls from Lyari gangsters. Since there is no writ of the law, our only option is to continue to pay the extortion money."



SHO Rana Khushi said that the shopkeepers had complained they were receiving threats from Lyari's Wasiullah Lakho gang, which was demanding between Rs200 to Rs500 from each shop on a monthly basis. He added that the protest came to an end after negotiations with the traders and shopkeepers, who were given assurances that they would be provided complete protection to avoid similar incidents in the future.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19^th, 2015.