Bullet-riddled body of doctor found in Quetta
Deadly attack on buses in Pakistan city
At least 10 passengers were killed and 20 injured when armed men opened fire on two buses in Karachi.
Last Modified: 07 Jul 2011 15:41
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At least 10 passengers were killed and 20 others injured on Wednesday when armed men opened fire on two buses in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, officials said.
"Unknown armed men intercepted two buses on a road in Banaras Chowk neighbourhood and shot indiscriminately on the passengers, killing at least 10 and wounding 20 others," provincial home ministry official, Sharfuddin Memon, told AFP news agency.
The figures were confirmed by to Al Jazeera by the inspector general of police, who said another 15 people were targeted and shot dead in different areas across Karachi – bringing today's death toll to 25 people.
The fresh wave of violence in the city began on Tuesday with at least 47 people reported to have been killed in the city in the past 36 hours, DawnNews reported.
The violence which broke out in Orangi Town spread to Lyari, Baldia Town, Site and Gulshan-i-Iqbal areas.
Police said that armed men hijacked one of the minibuses from Rashid Minhas Road and shot five passengers - three of whom were relatives, in the head. The assailants managed to escape after dumping the vehicle in the Ziaul Haq Colony in Gulshan-i-Iqbal.
A spokesman for the Awami National Party claimed that at least two of its workers were killed and seven wounded in incidents of firing on Wednesday.
Although the government claimed to have sent further reinforcements of police and Rangers to the affected areas, law-enforcement personnel failed to quell the violence.
Police claimed it arrested over 100 individuals suspected of being involved in the violence. City Officials officials blame the third straight day of violence blamed on political and ethnic tensions.
The city is frequently plagued by sectarian killings, crime and kidnappings.
Staff Report
QUETTA: Bullet-riddled body of a doctor was found in Killi Kamalo area on Saryab Road on Tuesday morning, police said.
Dr Mumtaz Haider, head of the Bolan Medical College’s Physiology Department, had been whisked away by unidentified abductors on March 28 from Quetta. According to a police official, some passers-by had spotted a dead body in Killing Kamalo area and informed the Shalkot police about it. The body was shifted to the Bolan Medical Complex Hospital where the victim was identified as Dr Haider.
Police sources said that “the victim was blindfolded and his hands were tied from behind with a rope”. The victim had received three bullets – two in the temple and one on one of his shoulders, according to hospital sources. The Pakistan Medical Association has announced three-day mourning.
Target killing: Gray areas Sunday Magazine Feature
By Salman Siddiqui
Published: April 19, 2011
Emerging trends in target killings in Karachi point towards an increasing overlap in political and sectarian violence. DESIGN: AMIR MIRZA
We tend to divide victims of target killing into neat categories: X was killed due to his ethnicity, Y was killed due to his sect. However, reality tends to be a lot more complicated.
Emerging trends in target killings in Karachi point towards an increasing overlap in political and sectarian violence. The city’s biggest and most powerful political party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement(MQM-A), says it is being targeted not only by militias with links to its rival mainstream political parties, but also by anti-Shia militant groups. On the other hand, proscribed organisations like the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) claim that their workers are being targeted in Karachi in record numbers by groups backed by some individuals with links to mainstream political parties.
A common misperception about target killings is that they are all political in nature. For example, when a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-A) man gets killed, the Awami National Party (ANP) or the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM-H) almost always gets blamed and vice versa. Many a time, this does indeed hold true.
But reality is seldom black and white and recent target killings have only gone to show how blurred the dividing lines have become.
MQM leader Wasay Jalil says his party is under constant threat from extremists since the MQM has been vocal against terrorism and extremism in the country. He said that the daylight murder of MPA Raza Haider in 2010 and the recent slaying of the party’s joint sector in-charge in Nazimabad were among dozens of other cases where an anti-Shia militant group targeted their members just because they belonged to a particular religious sect.
“Many of our senior leaders and workers continue to receive death threats from these groups and we have advised them to be cautious in their movements,” says Jalil, before going on to request me not to name the individuals who were being threatened.
When Raza Haider was murdered at a mosque in Nazimabad in Aug 2010, more than 50 people, mostly Pashtuns, were killed in the aftermath even though Interior minister Rehman Malik had clearly pointed out that the senior MQM leader had been receiving threats from extremist groups, specifically the anti-Shia SSP and its splinter group, the notorious Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).
A notorious group of LeJ militants led by Waseem Barodi were eventually nabbed by the authorities from Orangi town last year, and were was charged with Haider’s murder. Haider was himself elected to the Sindh Assembly seat from Orangi. Wasay says the party is satisfied with the arrests made by the authorities and believes that the right people were caught.
But why would militant groups such as the SSP and LeJ specifically target Shia members of only the MQM, given that other mainstream political parties like the PPP and ANP also have many workers who belong to that sect?
In response to that question, Wasay repeated his stance that unlike other parties, the MQM as the only one that truly spoke out about extremism in the country and was therefore being singled out.
Meanwhile, the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) chief Maulana Mohammad Ahmed Ludhianvi has a long list of his own grievances. (ASWJ is the new name for the SSP) Ludhianvi claims that over 100 ASWJ workers were murdered in target killing incidents in Karachi last year. (According to police records, a total of 39 ASWJ have been killed compared with MQM-A’s 122 zorkers since 2008.)
“I want to ask Rehman Malik that if he blames us for Raza Haider’s murder, then who is responsible for the killing of a hundred of our workers last year?” asks Ludhianvi, before going on to answer his own question. “There is no doubt that the murderers belong to the Shia sect and have taken refuge in the Muttahida Qaumi movement,” he said.
The ASWJ chief said that his organisation was on a war path with Shia militant groups and Shia religious thought itself.
Referring to the recent busting of the ‘Mehdi force’ militant group, which operated under the banned Sipah-e-Mohammad, Ludhianvi said that the authorities in Karachi recently nabbed nine suspects involved in the murder of his workers. “Why don’t you ask the authorities where these men get their support from?” he asked, adding that that the labeling of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan as a terrorist organisation was mere propaganda.
A spokesperson for the ASWJ in Karachi sought to downplay the comments by his chief. “There are no issues with the MQM. There may be some individual acts, but that doesn’t mean that it is the official policy of any mainstream political party to target our workers,” he said.
Counterterrorism officials in the police and intelligence community say they are well aware of the alarming situation. A senior official, who did not wish to be named, said that he felt that the waters were being tested for another bloody round of confrontation this year since neither side was ready to step back.
Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, April 17th,
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Rangers claim they can stop target killings in one monthBy Rauf Klasra
Published: April 20, 2011
Rangers claim that lack of resources has caused a hindrance for them to successfully control target killings in Karachi. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMBAD:
As the authorities struggle to contain the frequent outbreaks of target killings in Karachi, paramilitary forces have made a strong-worded offer to the government: Give us one new helicopter, 800 bulletproof jackets and a free hand in the city, and we will eliminate the phenomenon within one month.
The Pakistan Rangers Sindh is said to have been long denied by the government the required resources to combat the alarming violence in Karachi –– which has meant that the paramilitary force’s success in controlling target killings in Karachi has been minimal.
The force is facing financial troubles and requires close to half a billion rupees and a new helicopter to replace its old one, which was grounded last month.
Official documents available with The Express Tribune reveal that this offer was made by the brass of the Pakistan Rangers during a closed-door briefing given to a parliamentary body which had visited Karachi. The meeting was said to have been called to discuss the issue of target killing, and deputy director-general (DDG) of the Rangers briefed the parliamentary panel on the overall law and order situation.
“If the government of Sindh gives us free hand, we can stop the situation of targeted killing within one month,” a determined DDG Rangers was said to have claimed in the meeting, adding that the force was facing serious shortage of required resources and equipment.
The parliamentary committee has now brought this offer into the notice of interior ministry which is the controlling authority at the federal level.
“For us, this is not an impossible mission to pull off,” the parliamentarians were told.
According to sources, the government had long ignored requests by the paramilitary force for equipment and funding to combat target killings as well as the several mafias operating in the city. In addition, law-enforcers have also complained about political expediencies playing havoc with efforts to control the city’s law and order situation.
Now, the sources said, the Rangers authorities had now formally told the government that it could eliminate targeted killings if it were given what it needs – most importantly a ‘free hand’.
However, the sources said, there was little hope that interior ministry would give a free hand to the force keeping political interests in view. One source, who was present in the meeting, said that not a single member of the parliamentary body seemed to be too enthusiastic about the Rangers’ offer.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2011.
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Karachi violence: 14 killed in firing incidents
Killings took place after an attack on ANP Deputy General Secretary Bashir Jan. DESIGN: AMIR MIRZA
KARACHI: Fourteen people were killed and over 20 injured in target killing incidents in Karachi on Thursday night as parts of the city remained tensed due to the rampant violence.
Wali Khan Babar, a young reporter, was killed after being shot five times near Liaquatabad market on his way home. DIG West Sultan Khawaja has appointed a team of three SSP’s to investigate the journalist’s killing.
Abus in Banaras was fired at, killing six commuters on the spot and two men were killed in separate incidents of firing in Liaquatabad and Banaras metroville, while another man was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Korangi Chakro.
Late at night in Orangi Town, a man was killed by firing, while the body of an unidentified man was found near Jam Sadiq bridge Friday morning.
Updated from print edition (below)
Fresh violence: At least 8 killed in firing incidents
Fresh violence erupted in Karachi late Thursday, with at least eight people killed and over 15 injured in firing incidents in different parts of the metropolis.
The killings took place shortly after an attack on Awami National Party (ANP) Deputy General Secretary Bashir Jan in the Hassan Square area.
Most of the firing incidents took place in parts of Orangi Town, including Banaras, Bukhari Colony, Kati Pahari. One Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) worker Hammad, who was also said to be a relative of MQM leader Shoaib Bukhari, was shot dead in the Liaquatabad area.
Four bodies and eight injured were brought to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, three bodies and two injured to Civil Hospital Karachi and one body and seven injured to Qatar Hospital.
Law enforcement agencies were put on high alert following the incidents.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 14th, 2011.
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14 January,2011 Last Updated at 03:24PM
Terror reigns Karachi as another 19 killed
Terror reigns Karachi as another 19 killed As many as 19 people, including a private TV channel reporter and retired major, have been killed, while 10 got injured in the ongoing wave of targeted killing in Karachi, Dunya News reported on Friday.
A retired army major Iqbal Kashmiri, an employee of Civil Aviation Authority, was killed in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. Unidentified armed persons opened fire on a bus in Orangi Town as a result of which 7 people got killed including a 7-year-old girl. The dead bodies have been shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital of Karachi. The deceased have been identified as M Ali, Jahngir Alim Dua Fatima, M Ishaq, Noor Hussai. A person got death in Liaquat Abad.
While in Liaqat Abad, a private channel report has gunned down by unidentified persons. The funeral prayer of the assassinated reporter has been offered.
ANP Deputy General Secretary along with his body guard also got serious injured in a firing incident. Unidentified persons have killed 3 members of a family In New Karachi.
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Six including a reporter killed in Karachi
Upadated on: 14 Jan 11 08:17 AM
Staff Report
KARACHI: At least six people including a reporter from a privfate news channel, were killed in various firing incidents in different areas of karachi on Thursday night.
Some unidentified miscreants shot down Wali Khan Babar, a reporter of a private news channel, when he was on his way back home from his office. The refporter received at least five gunshots and died on the spot.
In another incident, a bank manager Anwar Raza, 55, was injured in firing incident by unidentified saboteurs in Moosa Lane in the limits of Baghdadi Police Station. He was rushed to hospital, where he succumbed to injuries.
It should be mentioned here that Anwar was injured in a murder attack in 2002 as well.
A man was shot down in firing incident near Katti Pahari area of Orangi Town.
At least three people including a woman were gunned down in firing incidents in New Karachi area of Madina Colony. SAMAA
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FACTBOX-Pakistan's Karachi at centre of political dogfight07 Jan 2011
Source: reuters // Reuters
By Sanjeev Miglani
Jan 7 (Reuters) - Pakistan's beleaguered prime minister headed to the southern port city of Karachi on Friday to woo back the region's dominant political party after it defected from the coalition over rising fuel prices, plunging the nation into a political crisis.
(For main story, click on [ID:nSGE70602L]; for a feature on Karachi's volatile mix of politics and crime, click on [ID:nSGE6AE0RD])
The latest bout of political instability has largely to do with control of Karachi where a triangular battle involving mohajirs, or the descendants of immigrants from India, ethnic Pashtuns and indigenous Sindhis has intensified in recent years.[ID:nSGE6AP06Z]
Indeed, the "civil war" in Karachi as some call it, between the Urdu-speaking mohajirs and Pashtuns, who have arrived in droves following conflict on the Afghan border, has stoked concern that a nation created on the basis of religion was now tearing itself apart on ethnic lines.
ETHNIC MAKEUP
The mohajirs constitute the largest single group in Karachi and are represented by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement(MQM) which quit Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's coalition. They are descendants of refugees from northern India, who migrated to Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur in Sindh province, when Pakistan was formed in 1947.
Pakistan was the creation of the Muslim elite from British-ruled India. In the initial years after the formation of Pakistan, when Karachi was the capital, the mohajir elite dominated political power in Pakistan.
After the Pakistani army under General Ayub Khan seized power in the late 1950s, the mohajirs found themselves increasingly marginalized by a combination of Punjabis and Pashtuns. After the capital was shifted from Karachi to Islamabad, the mohajirs lost most of their political power and were reduced to insignificance in the federal bureaucracy.
Since then, they have fought to consolidate their power base on Karachi, both through the ballot as well as in street battles with principally the Awami National Party, the main Pashtun group, but also sometimes clashed with supporters of the ruling Pakistan People's Party as well as Sindhi nationalist groups.
INFLUX OF PASHTUNS/TALIBANISATION
Karachi's melting pot has become more volatile following an influx of Pashtuns from the northwest Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa province, and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the border, since the army started operations against the Pakistan Taliban in 2008 and the United States stepped up drone strikes. Many Pashtuns have sympathies with the Deobandi Taliban, the MQM says, warning that the metropolis was slowly being Talibanised.
According to some estimates, 3.5 million Pashtuns live in Karachi, making it the largest concentration of Pashtuns anywhere.
VIOLENCE MOUNTS
Karachi's Citizens-Police Liaison, a watchdog, says more than 1,100 people were killed in ethnic violence in the city in 2010, the worst toll in 15 years, with political and religious leaders among the victims.
Islamist militant violence in Karachi also increased in 2010 ending a period of quiet in the preceding two years when guerrilla groups focused more on cities in the northwest. In November, a suspected Taliban suicide car bombing demolished a crime investigation department compound where senior militants are interrogated. At least 18 people were killed and 100 wounded.
WHAT IS AT STAKE?
Karachi, according to some officials, contributes 68 percent of the government's total revenue and 25 percent of gross domestic product. It is home to the central bank, the main stock exchange and is also the main industrial base.
The country's two main ports are in Karachi and it is the major transit point for supplies for U.S forces in Afghanistan. The U.S. Defense Department says the U.S. military sends 75 percent of supplies for the Afghan war through or over Pakistan, including 40 percent of fuel. Most of it is shipped through Karachi (Editing by Robert Birsel; sanjeev.miglani@reuters.com + 65 6870 3815)
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Governor Sindh, CM condemn murder of Wali Babar KARACHI, Jan 14 (APP): Governor of Sindh, Dr. Ishrat ul Ebad Khan, has condemned the murder of the reporter of private Television channel, Wali Khan Babar, who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen here on Thursday night. He has directed the concerned officials to conduct an immediate inquiry into the incident and arrest the perpetrators. Dr. Ishrat ul Ebad also condoled with the family members of the deceased.
He prayed to Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage and fortitude to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss.
Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, has also condemned the murder of Wali Khan babar.
He has sought a detailed report from the Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Karachi.
Qaim Ali Shah also ordered the arrest of those responsible for the murder of Wali Khan Babar.
He also offered condolence to the family members of late Wali Khan Babar.
Adviser to Chief Minister, Rashid Rabbani, and Special Assistant, Waqar Medhi, have also condemned the murder to Wali Khan babar.
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Wali Khan Babar murder FIR lodged
Updated at: 1025 PST, Friday, January 14, 2011
KARACHI: Police on Friday lodged an FIR into the murder of Wali Khan Babar, reporter of Geo News, who was gunned down in a targeted attack last night in Liaquatabad.
The FIR No. 08/2011 was registered on the complaint of deceased brother Muhammat Khan Babar at Super Market Police Station.
Babar, 29, was the first reporter to die in the line of duty in Pakistan in 2011.
Investigation officer Khatim Khan Marwat told Geo News that police have found five cases of spent 9mm bullets, adding that fingerprints have also been taken from the vehicle. He added that further investigation is underway.
Updated at: 0507 PST, Friday, January 14, 2011
KARACHI: The martyred reporter of Geo News Wali Khan Babar was a brave and courageous person who was shot dead in a targeted-killing attack on Thursday evening.
Shaheed Babar led his life with courage and had always eyed high aims since joining Geo News as he demonstrated heroism even on the last day of his life.
Shaheed Wali Babar remained busy in disseminating information to people of Pakistan pertaining to police-rangers’ joint search operation in some areas here in metropolis on Thursday – the day Shaheed was gunned down.
Bravery being a ‘gist of his life’ can be judged through his facebook account wherein he had mentioned ‘bravery’ as his most important quality.
May the departed soul of Shaheed Babar rest in peace and harmony in eternal life.
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Updated at: 2341 PST, Thursday, January 13, 2011
LONDON: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain condemned the killing of Geo News reporter Wali Khan Babar, who was shot dead in a terrorist incident in Liaquatabad here on Thursday.
MQM voiced concerns over two violent incidents involving killing of Geo News reporter Wali Khan Babar, who was shot dead in a terrorist incident in Liaquatabad and terror attack at General Secretary of the Awami National Party (ANP) chapter Sindh Bashir Jan.
Wali Khan Babar’s body has been shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. While, Bashir Jan has been rushed to Jinnah Hospital.
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* Three lose lives in different mishaps
KARACHI: Three people, including a woman, were gunned down over a personal enmity, a Shia man killed in target killing and three other people lost their lives in different incidents in the metropolis here on Thursday.
According to details, a manager of private bank was gunned down at Moosa Lane in the remits of Baghdadi police station. Anwar Raza, 56, resident of Qaiser Raza Building, located at Moosa Lane, was sitting in front of his house in the morning hours when unidentified pillion riders arrived there and shot him dead.Police said the victim was the branch manager of NIB Bank, Lee Market branch and belonged to Shia community. Police have registered a case and initiated the probe.
Separately, three people, including a woman, were killed in Madina Colony in the limits of New Karachi Industrial Area police station.
The police said the deceased were identified as Khan Muhammad alias Khanu, 50, wife of Khan Muhammad Qamar alias Qamru, 45, and Taimour, 25, brother of Qamar. They said that unidentified culprits barged into house No 69/18, sector 5-G, Madina Colony and opened indiscriminate fire on them, resultantly all of them died on the spot. SP New Karachi Karamullah told Daily Times that police received three empty shells of bullets from the scene. The SP said bodies were found at ground floor.
Victim Qamru was the mother of two daughters and at the time of incident they were sleeping. The body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital Karachi for postmortem and later handed over to the family.
Man drowns: A man fell down from Korangi Bridge in the jurisdiction of Zaman Town police station and drowned in a drain. The body was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for an autopsy and later moved to mortuary for identification.
Mishap: In another incident, a man died while stealing an iron from a pottery farm located in the limits of Gulshan-e-Maymar police station.
Police said the man was identified as Kamran, 25, resident of the same area. He was trying to steal iron from a pottery farm when it fell down from the roof. As a result, he suffered injuries and died on the spot. The body was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities and later handed over to the heirs.
Separately, a man drowned in beach in the jurisdiction of Docks police station.
Police said Noor-ur-Rehman, 52, resident of Docks area, slipped and drowned in the beach. The body was shifted to the Civil Hospital Karachi for postmortem and later handed over to the heirs. staff report
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The Karachi police today are armed mostly to protect themselves from irate citizens and fundos or from deserving candidates for police recruitment who were turned away for lack of patronage rather than to safeguard the common man
Every evening in Karachi we hear bursts of gunfire. We sleep armed behind locked doors with guards and guard dogs patrolling the ‘moat’, which separates the house from the street. ‘Brinks’ alarms and ‘panic’ buttons in each room add not to the sense of security, but rather the contrary. Police patrols pass by now and then, but no one feels reassured because they are as likely to be filled with criminals as the police who, in Karachi, are often one and the same. Only the poor are safe because they have nothing to offer bandits.
Three houses in the neighbourhood have thus far been pillaged, at the cost of one dead, a chowkidar (gatekeeper), who was beheaded. The other two houses escaped comparatively lightly. In one the bandits had the wife of the owner cook them breakfast, as they were loading her generator on to the truck which they had thoughtfully brought along; and in the other they left with the belongings although not all because they returned some weeks later to pick up the rest.
Even the president is wary. Whenever he arrives to survey his properties, whole streets are blocked off and new forts spring up in our midst. When he moves, it is as if a war is ongoing. However, considering the speed with which he decamps the battlefield, this war appears to be yet another war that we are losing.
The killing of Benazir Bhutto and the havoc that followed her death made us Karachiites yearn for the democracy dividend for which she had so bravely given her life. And it was not long in coming, in the form of daily targeted killings of scores of city dwellers. The authorities had no explanation or none that were remotely plausible.
So now it is taken as a given that you can be shot at anywhere and hence must take your own precautions. One of which is that, before assaying out for work every day, we Karachiites phone each other to ascertain the score. If one side has lost appreciably more men than the other in the previous day’s killings, then those areas where the ‘victors’ live are best avoided lest one should get caught up in the ‘surge’ mounted by their opponents to even the score. Because, curiously in our kleptocracy, money is not the only item in demand; taking a life on whim, fancy, party and belief is more so. Actually, it is the vogue(The prevailing fashion, practice, or style: Hoop skirts were once the vogue.
), nay it has become a fad(A fashion that is taken up with great enthusiasm for a brief period of time; a craze.
). Pakistan, one is happy to announce, no longer has an image problem. We have finally succeeded in doing away with our image problem. It is reality, which is the problem now.
As there is no ‘image’ left to project, and because reality is better conveyed by embedded journalists, certain cost-cutting measures come to mind. The first of which is that scores of our embassies abroad that are meant to project a non-existent ‘image’ can be closed. In any case, all that they do is provide subsidised holidays for our diplomats. Why on earth, for example, do we have an embassy in tiny Ireland, which has more horses than people, and much better bred to boot, unless it is to ensure that Amin Fahim’s daughter appointed as a First Secretary out of the blue has a job. Or is it out of some kind of solidarity with the Irish, who, it is said, like us, never speak well of one another; or perhaps because the Irish too do not know what they want but are prepared to fight to the death to get it. But surely in these cash-strapped days that is a luxury, which we can ill afford.
At least 40 of our approximately 60 missions abroad serve very little purpose. Of course, the prime minister’s recent directive that henceforth Pakistani officials travelling abroad should, as a cost-cutting measure, kip down in embassies and consulates suggests that embassy buildings will double up as hotels and hostels. This has intriguing consequences, considering the rush of officials wanting to visit Rome and Paris, one of which is that hoteliers, rather than those versed in international relations, can now also be considered for appointment to our embassies. And why not, if convicted felons, shore-based admirals, amateur chefs and shrine devotees are already in situ or in the running for such jobs?
A corollary of mission closures would be to downsize the Foreign Office, which sports as many as 1,000 or more babus of all grades. If downsized by 70 percent, it would still be more than the strength that existed in 1971, when Pakistan was united and our population was very roughly the same. Anyway, having outsourced foreign policy to the military, there seems little justification for further expenditure on the Foreign Office. Such an exercise would account for savings of tens of millions of rupees. The moneys so saved could be divided up between our main cities with Karachi getting the lion’s share for obvious reasons.
One other benefit of living in a city like Karachi, which is run akin to a criminal enterprise, is the savings that could be made on security. Law and order in designated areas could effectively be outsourced to forces best able to establish their writ, which, as it happens, is not the police. Thus privatised, it would be more effective and cheaper. In fact, had the government not decided to retain the police force as an excuse to provide jobs for its supporters at the expense of the taxpayer, the proposal may have won acceptance. After all, the Karachi police today are armed mostly to protect themselves from irate citizens and fundos or from deserving candidates for police recruitment who were turned away for lack of patronage rather than to safeguard the common man. Hence, yet more millions saved.
Guarded and preserved for very different reasons by the Americans and the Taliban, Karachi could become a thriving metropolis. And with the savings thus effected, water, gas, oil and electricity could be had for the asking. There may even be some left over to ensure that the Edhi centres continue to run and the drug addicts wallowing in filth under the many underpasses be relocated elsewhere and be provided clean needles. And, finally, there would be a modicum of security for the hapless inhabitants to look forward to.
The writer is a former ambassador. He can be reached at charles123it@hotmail.com
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Fear grips Karachi as death toll rises to 22
Updated at: 1650 PST, Friday, January 14, 2011
KARACHI: Another wave of target killings hit Karachi leaving 22 people killed in the last 24 hours including Geo News reporter Wali Kahan Babar in different parts of the country's commercial capital, Geo News reported.
At least seven people were killed yesterday while fifteen more lost lives today.
Gulistan-e-Jauhar's Pahalwan Goth area was once again under the grip of violence where two groups exchanged fire. Sindh CM's helicopter pilot Major Iqbal Kaashmiri was shot dead near Rabia City and another man was killed on Jam Sadiq Bridge in Korangi Industrial Area.
Two injured people also succumbed to the injuries.
The most serious incident occurred in Orangi Town when armed men attacked a bus of route 1-D near Qasba More, in which six people, including a seven-year-old girl Dua and a woman, were killed.
The bodies and the injured were shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed and Qatar Hospitals.
Those killed were identified as Faraz, Rashid Anwar, Javed and Dua while two remained unidentified. Later, large contingents of police and Rangers started patrolling the affected areas.
In another incident, a man identified as Hamaad, an MQM supporter, was shot dead in Liaquatabad area late night that was laid to rest today. Police said the victim was standing outside his house when two armed men riding a motorcycle opened fire on him.
Earlier, unidentified assailants riding a two-wheeler opened fire on ANP Sindh Secretary General Basheer Jan and his colleague Arshad near the Civic Center. As a result, both received injuries and were rushed to the JPMC, where their condition is stated to be out of danger.
Police said that Basheer Jan had come to visit an office in Gulshan area when he was attacked by some unknown armed men who later managed to flee from the scene. The ANP leader received bullets on both hands and on the back, hospital sources said. Police have registered a case and started investigation.
Violence and firing incidents were reported from different parts of the city, including Manghopir, Orangi Town, Qasba More and the Kati Pehari area.
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Former MQM nazim killed in Khi firing
Updated at: 1238 PST, Saturday, January 15, 2011
KARACHI: A former UC nazim of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has been killed in firing incident by unidentified miscreants in Mominabad, Geo News reported Saturday.
Former Site Town Nazim Saeed Badshah belonged to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
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Staff Report
QUETTA: Unidentified gunmen shot dead a senior government official in a fresh incident of target killing in Quetta on Saturday.
According to reports, Abdul Jabbar, a deputy director at Ministry of Science and Technology, was targeted on airport road after he left his home for office.
The assailants managed to escape after the shooting.
Police reached the scene and shifted the dead body to Civil Hospital for necessary medico-legal formalities.
His killing came after 27 people were killed in a series of violent attacks in Karachi since Thursday morning. SAMAA
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Karachi unrest: Death toll rises to 31
Death toll climbs to 22; PM calls up MQM and ANP chiefs. PHOTO: PPI/FILE
KARACHI: The death toll of the latest wave of violence in Karachi rose to 31 on Saturday, Express 24/7 reported. Most of the victims were Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Awami National Party (ANP) workers.
Both parties came out strong against the killings. The ANP submitted an adjournment motion against the violence in the Senate saying these killings are destabilising the city.
The MQM also denounced the violence, saying a stable Karachi is in the best interest of the country and that the killings are undermining the peace.
The MQM came out strong after one of its former union councilors was shot dead in Orangi Town earlier today (Saturday).
The Jamiat-e-Ulema-Fazl (JUI-F) also filed an adjournment motion in the National Assembly.
Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza said investigation teams should be set up to check the violence, adding that snap checking and operations should also take place.
The Sindh chief minister said target killings take place in all countries of the world.
More than 20 suspects were arrested in late night operations in Karachi on Friday, following a wave of violence that has kept the city tense since the attack on the ANP deputy general and the killing of journalist Wali Khan Babar.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rehman Malik met JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to discuss the increasingly tense law and order situation in Karachi.
Fazl expressed his concern over incidents of target killings in Karachi and called for the immediate arrest of those involved in such crimes.
Updated from print edition (below)
Flaring up, yet again: Karachi enters another round of target killings
The city remained tense as the prevailing anarchy claimed at least a dozen more lives bringing the death toll to 22 in the last 24 hours. Around 19 people were also wounded in various shooting incidents across the city, according to police officials.
Meanwhile, in the backdrop of the violence that threatens to breakout into another politico-ethnic feud, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was reported to have called up the chiefs of the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to discuss the prevailing political situation in the country.
Although the law enforcement agencies’ personnel have been put on high alert and increased patrolling and snap-checking were witnessed across the city, the bloodshed continued unabated and no arrest was brought to notice of the media in this regard. Meanwhile no police official was ready to own the failure to curb the violence, nor has any action been taken against the security officials of the troubled areas. “After the Geo News reporter Wali Khan Babar was killed, the culprits shot and injured the ANP leader Bashir Jan, prompting eruption of violence in Orangi Town and others parts of the city,” Karachi police chief Fayyaz Leghari told The Express Tribune.
“A joint investigation team led by west zone Deputy Inspector General Sultan Khawaja has been formed to probe the assassination of the reporter and subsequent killings,” said Leghari, adding that the police have nabbed some ‘real’ suspects involved in the target killings and violence in the city and promised they would be brought in front of the media soon.
One of the victims on Friday, 56-year-old retired Major Iqbal Kashmiri, was a pilot of the Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah’s helicopter and an employee of the Civil Aviation Authority. Kashmiri was killed by two unknown assailants in Gulistan-e-Jauhar while returning home from work. Other victims included the Pakistan Peoples Party’s deputy secretary district west Naveed alias Noori, gunned down in North Nazimabad, and two Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers Hammad and Zafar Sheikh, killed in Liaquatabad and Malir respectively.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 15th, 2011.
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QUETTA: Three people, including a senior government official and a woman, were killed in two separate firing incidents in the provincial capital on Saturday. In the first incident, Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) Deputy Director Abdul Qayyum was going to his office when some unidentified men opened fire at his vehicle on the Airport Road near a NADRA office. Qayyum received three bullets and died on the spot. The assailants, however, managed to flee from the crime scene. The body was handed over to the heirs after autopsy. A police official suspected that the incident might be a case of personal enmity. In another incident, unidentified men riding a motorcycle entered the Sahiban Community Health Centre near Baloch Colony and opened indiscriminate firing, which claimed the lives of Fehmida, a health worker, and watchman Saeed Ahmed. The dead bodies were taken to the Bolan Medical College Complex for autopsies. staff report
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Taliban torch 16 tankers in Dera Murad Jamali
* Taliban spokesman claims responsibility for attack
* Says attack in retaliation to US drone attacks in Waziristan
QUETTA: Unidentified gunmen in Dera Murad Jamali set ablaze 16 vehicles carrying fuel supplies for the US and NATO troops stationed in Afghanistan on Saturday.
Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq claimed the responsibility for the assault, which involved eight gunmen, and left a NATO tanker driver wounded. Police, however, refused to speculate on who was behind the attack.
Reportedly, the oil tankers, parked at a petrol pump, some nine kilometres away from Dera Murad Jamali of Naseerabad district, waiting for daybreak, had to leave for Chaman at 4am to enter Afghanistan.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers, riding in a car, shot bullets at the tankers, of which some 16 vehicles caught fire. An official source added that two more tankers parked a distance away were undamaged.
Naseerabad Deputy Commissioner Abdul Fateh Khajak claimed that the gunmen, who were four in number, had come from Dera Allah Yar. He confirmed that 16 tankers were destroyed in the strike at time between 2:30am and 3:00am. He said the convoy had three security guards, but they all ran away.
A NATO oil tanker driver, Muhammad Tahir, who received serious bullet wounds in the attack, was shifted to the Dera Murad Jamali Civil Hospital and later referred to the Chandka Medical College Hospital, Larkana, for better treatment, the deputy commissioner added.
According to eyewitnesses, the attackers were heavily armed and used massive firepower to scare the locals. The ensuing fire within no time engulfed nearby shops and a roadside hotel. Fire brigade, after several hours’ efforts, put out the fire.
“It is in retaliation to drone attacks in tribal areas,” Taliban spokesman Tariq told AFP in a phone call from an undisclosed location in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region. staff report/agencies
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Target killing claims 5 lives
* MQM, PPP, ST activists killed
* Security agencies claim to have arrested several suspects
KARACHI: Three activists of political parties, one of a religious party and another man were gunned down in the metropolis in separate incidents of target killing on Saturday.
According to details, a former Site Town Naib Nazim and Member of Muttahida Organising Committee Saeed Badshah Khan, son of Memoon Khan, was shot dead in Mominabad area.
In another incident, two activists of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) youth wing were shot dead while two others injured at Urdu Chowk, Orangi Town in the limits of Mominabad police station.
The incident took place at Urdu Chowk Sector 10 when unidentified armed men came on a motorcycle and opened indiscriminate firing, injuring four men namely Zubaid alias Kala, Tahir Baloch, Farhan and Nafess. The armed men fled from the scene. Police reached the spot and shifted the injured to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and Civil Hospital Karachi, where two activists of PPP youth wing Zubair and Tahir succumbed their injuries.
Separately, Sunni Tehreek member Saeed Rafiq Qadri was shot dead within the limits of Nabi Bukhsh police station.
He was sitting in the Ranchore Lane area when unidentified armed men riding on a motorcycle came and opened indiscriminate firing at him. He tried to escape but the bullets got to him. The culprits managed to flee from the scene. During the incident four people Liaquat, Shahid, Givind and Ayesha were injured. Police said the culprits’ target was Qadri. Tension engulfed the Ranchore Lane area and police were deployed there to avoid any untoward incident.
Target killing also claimed another life in the limits of Surjani police station. Police said that the victim was identified as Ziyarat Khan, 35, son of Gul Khan, resident of Sector L-1, House No 104.
They said the deceased was sitting outside his home when unidentified culprits arrived on a motorbike and shot him multiple bullets. Resultantly, he succumbed to the bullet injuries on the way to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. The body was handed over to heirs after completion of legal formalities, while an FIR of the murder could not be registered till filing this story.
Security agencies claimed to have arrested several suspects involved in the violence and target killings, besides confirming the arrest of two suspects allegedly involved in the attack on ANP local leader Bashir Jan and firing at a mosque in Orangi Town.
Police did not disclose the names of the arrested men, but said that both were arrested from Qatar Hospital, Orangi Town where wounded criminals reached for treatment.
The sources confirmed that City Police Chief Fayyaz Laghari briefed a high level meeting at the Governor House about the present law and order situation. The police chief disclosed that a total of 27 people have been killed in the last three days in the city out of which 17 were the victims of
target killings.
Sharfuddin Memon, a spokesperson of Home Minister Sindh, confirmed that 17 out of 27 killed persons were the victims of the current wave of target killings while the rest of the victims were targeted over other matters. He quoted Home Minister Zulfiqar Ali Mirza as saying that the sensitive areas had been handed over to the Rangers and police while Rangers had been directed to intensify the patrolling and snap checking across the city.
The spokesman said that several suspects had been taken into custody by the law enforcers from different areas. He said that police and Rangers had also carried out search operations and raids in various city areas and arrested many of the criminals.
The spokesman said that the names of arrested persons would be disclosed after the completion of an investigation and legal formalities.
It is pertinent to mention here that security forces carried out raids and searched the houses in different localities of the city but could not arrest any prominent figure. The raids and search operation were conducted in Falknaz apartment in Shah Faisal Town, Rabia City apartment in Gulistan-e-Johar, Abul Hassan Ispahani Road area and various other localities of Orangi Town.
The Orangi Town and many other city areas remained tense today, affecting business and social life. The hospital sources confirmed that the death toll from current target killings of the three days hit 25 by Saturday. Some 14 of these victims were the residents of Orangi Town. The most victims of Orangi Town were passersby, bystanders and commuters who were killed or wounded at different entry and exit points of Orangi Town including Banars and Kati Pahari.
A resident of Orangi Town, Kashif Naeem, said that armed men opened aerial fire on passing vehicles and shot and tortured a passerby on the way to home or workplace at Kati Pahari and Banaras areas. staff report
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Terror and chaos in Karachi
Pakistani policemen search a vehicle at a roadside check point in Karachi on January 15, 2011. At least 17 people have been killed in a fresh wave of political violence in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi, officials said . AFP PHOTO/
Even after reconciliation between the ruling PPP and MQM in Karachi over accusations made about target killings, people kept dying at the hands of killer gangs. The toll on January 14 was a shocking 22 dead in 24 hours. Indications persist that violence continues to emanate from political, religious and ethnic causes. The ruling trio — the PPP, MQM and ANP — are engaged in a three-way war of accusations and are hardly in a position to find a solution to the downward spiral of a city that is the economic heart of the country.
The killers have become sensitive to media reporting too, murdering Geo News reporter Wali Khan Babar before shooting and injuring ANP leader Bashir Jan in Orangi Town. As if to indicate the triangular nature of the urban war, victims included the PPP’s secretary district west, Naveed alias Noori, two MQM workers, Hammad and Zafar Sheikh, while two from the ANP had been attacked earlier.
Karachi has ample evidence of terror linked to the activity of bhatta (protection money) by criminal gangs who use murder as an instrument of persuasion. The reign of terror at Pehelwan Goth was still fresh in the minds of Karachiites when the courts exonerated those accused of killings, allowing them to walk free because of lack of evidence. The police have frequently used sign language to make the case that their work is greatly hampered by the fact that ruling politicians are involved in this score-settling homicide; yet the killing patterns reveal the presence of organisations other than the linguistic-ethnic ones. The last surge of target killing took place in mid-December, putting an end to the impression that killing stops every time federal interior minister Rehman Malik visits the city bearing an olive branch from PPP chief Asif Ali Zardari. This time the olive branch was bigger in size than ever before; yet the triangular spree of violence has swelled instead of going down. Pakhtun-dominated settlements — Sohrab Goth, Quaidabad, Banaras, Keamari, Jangabad, Luqman Colony, Machar Colony, Yasrab Colony, Maymar Complex, Decent Complex, Al-Asif Square, Gulshan-e-Akakhel, Quetta Town and New Sabzi Mandi — have often seen violence, indicating that the ANP doesn’t control and direct the entire Pakhtun community, most of whom originate not in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa but in Mehsud-dominated South Waziristan.
Sectarian killing is also rampant and recently the reverse-trend of killing Sunni doctors alerted the stricken people of Karachi to the rise of Lashkar-i-Muhammad. In 2008, the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) boasted that it had the capacity to control and rule Karachi. Its linkages to the madrassa network of Karachi are well-known. And madrassa-linked religious ‘high threat’ groups in Karachi, too, are known to the outside world: al Qaeda (Qari Zafar Group), the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and the Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan. The medium threat groups are: Sipah-i-Muhammad Pakistan (SMP), Harkatul Mujahideen al Alami, Harkatul Jihad al Islami, the Tehreek-i-Islami Lashkar-i-Muhammadi and Jandullah.
Ethnic politics has solidified in Karachi and social scientists say ethnic-based conflicts take a long time dying off. But two other developments starting in the 1980s have complicated the situation: the early quartering of al Qaeda in the city — a majority of the Arab terrorists surrendered to the US by Musharraf were caught from Karachi — and the pouring in of overseas money into the seminaries which proliferated and may stand at 3,000 today.
The pressure from the ethnic grassroots is such that the ruling trio has succumbed to it, instead of cooperating to put it down. All three political parties are secular in outlook and opposed to al Qaeda and the Taliban. When they are targeted by religious terrorists, other than in Karachi, they tend to stand up for them against one another. Benazir Bhutto was meant to die in Karachi, not in Rawalpindi, and the killers were directed from South Waziristan. A workable solution to this will only materialise when the three parties who rule the city can act in a non-partisan manner and purge their ranks of those in cahoots with various mafias.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 16th, 2011.
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KARACHI: Interior Minister Rehman Malik says the government has decided to impose a partial curfew in the violence-hit parts of Karachi from Sunday.
At least 30 people have lost their lives in a series of gun attacks since Thursday morning in the city.
Speaking to media persons at Karachi airport before leaving for Islamabad, he appreciated the performance of police and rangers personnel to stem the current wave of violence.
Some suspects, he claimed, have been captured on the spot by security agencies.
The Interior Minister said that a third power wants to instigate a confrontation among coalition partners, PPP, MQM and ANP. SAMAA
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Pakistan lacks sound security strategy-think tank
16 Jan 2011
Source: reuters // Reuters
* Suicide bombings ease
* Sounder tactics needed to tackle militancy
* Commercial capital Karachi gripped by violence
By Michael Georgy
ISLAMABAD, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Pakistan gained ground against militant violence in 2010, but urban "terrorism" is a growing threat and military success will not bring stability unless a comprehensive strategy is developed, a think tank said.
A report from the the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) to be released on Monday says the number of incidents of "violence and terrorism" in Pakistan fell by 11 percent in 2010 compared with the previous year.
The number of suicide attacks fell by 22 percent to 68 in 2010, compared with 87 in 2009, PIPS said.
But the nuclear-armed South Asian country has yet to come up with a sound, long-term strategy to tackle militancy, PIPS said. A total of 2,113 militant, insurgent and sectarian attacks were reported across the country in 2010, killing 2,913 people, it said.
The United States has been waging war against Taliban militants in Afghanistan for nearly 10 years, but many Western nations think neighbouring Pakistan poses a bigger threat.
Pakistan's lawless Pashtun tribal areas in the northwest are home to some of the world's most feared militant groups, including ones who attack Western forces in Afghanistan.
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Military campaigns are draining the U.S.-backed government's coffers, while public discontent is deepening over poverty and corruption, complicating efforts to stabilise the country.
"Better coordination among intelligence agencies, capacity building of law enforcement agencies, curbs on terrorism financing, and most importantly, adequate measures to prevent banned militant groups from operating across the country remained persistently lacking," PIPS said in its annual Pakistan security report.
Pakistan's military has launched a series of anti-Taliban offensives in the militant-infested northwest that have disrupted their activities. A sharp rise in U.S. drone strikes also contributed to the decrease in militant attacks, PIPS said.
Still, sustainable security remains elusive because of the "less than impressive performance of a weak political administration beset by chronic challenges of poor governance," said PIPS.
Security crackdowns have focused on the northwest but instability in Pakistan's biggest city and commercial capital Karachi is a growing concern. Aside from political, ethnic and gang violence, authorities there are confronted with a growing nexus of militant groups who have found safe havens there.
As many as 93 militant attacks which killed 233 people were reported in 2010, PIPS said. In one high-profile attack in November, a Taliban suicide car bombing demolished a crime investigation department compound where senior militants were interrogated. At least 18 people were killed and 100 wounded.
Overall violence in Karachi spiked by 288 percent, PIPS said.
(Editing by Chris Allbritton)
(For more Reuters coverage of Pakistan, see: http://www.reuters.com/places/pakistan)
(If you have a query or comment about this story, send an e-mail to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)
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Violence grips Karachi once again; 4 dead
Updated on: Monday, May 02, 2011 4:50:38 PM
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Staff Report
KARACHI: Karachi is once again in the grip of pervasive violence as several people have been gunned down and various vehicles set ablaze in separate incidents in the metropolis.
Massive gridlocks are being witnessed in various areas of the city including I.I. Chundrigar Road, M.A. Jinnah Road, after violent incidents erupted in the wake of killing of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) worker. Also, petrol pumps have been closed.
In a recent episode, a vehicle was torched near UBL Complex. At least three people were killed in a firing incident near Darul Uloom, Korangi. A truck has been torched near Liaquat Flyover, raising the number of total vehicles burnt to 19.
These vehicles were set ablaze in Korangi, Liaquatabad, Landhi and Urdu University. Firing incidents were reported from Punjab Chowrangi, where at least six vehicles were set on fire. Two vehicles were torched in Sindh Hotel area. Also, two other vehicles were set ablaze in Gulshan Maimar and North Karachi areas.
It should be mentioned here that a worker of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was shot to death, which has spawned tremendous tension in the city's areas.
There are reports of intense firing in Gulistan-e-Jauhar where commercial centers and businesses have been closed down. Following the incident, Landhi and Shah Faisal Colony are witnessing closure of business centers.
Man was shot to death Near Bara Board in Pak Colony. A man was injured in firing incident in
The commercial activities have been brought to standstill in Abul Hasan Isfahani Road area after gunshots rang in the area. Firing incidents have been reported in various areas including PECHS where shops have been shut down.
A driver of a mini-bus was wounded, when gunshots were fired at his vehicle in Sohrab Goth area. (Last updated at 1750) SAMAA
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Violence erupts as MQM activist killed in Karachi
* Life in metropolis comes to a standstill as five more killed, 28 vehicles torched
By Atif Raza
KARACHI: A strong wave of violence left five people killed and 28 vehicles torched across the financial hub of country after the killing of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)’s senior worker Farooq Baig on Monday.
Just after the mourning day observed by the MQM to express sorrow over the target killing of its 100 workers in three months, another senior worker of the party, Baig was shot dead near Babar Market, Landhi within the remits of Awami Colony police station.
Soon after the killing, violence gripped many areas of the city, including Kharadar, Burns Road, Saddar, Korangi, Orangi, Tariq Road, PIB Colony, Guru Mandir, Martin Road, Jail Road, Garden, Nazimabad, Soldier Bazaar and New Karachi.
Baig, 40 son of Abdul Shakoor Baig was a senior worker of MQM and a member of the Karachi Tanzimi Committee (KTC).
According to police, he was gunned down at Bagh Korangi Road near Babar Market, Landhi within the jurisdiction of Awami Colony police station.
Unidentified armed men, riding a bike, shot him multiple times while he was in his car (GL-6367). He was shifted to a private hospital where doctors pronounced him dead. The body was later transported to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) for medico-legal formalities. Police said that Baig was a father of three and worked in the Landhi administration department.
All social and commercial activities in the city came to a standstill as reports of aerial firing and arson poured in. At least 28 vehicles were torched in different parts of the city. Two passenger buses were also torched whereas a cab, dumper truck, five vehicles, a goods carrier, a water tanker, a passenger coach, one mini bus, two trucks and eight other vehicles were set ablaze. Two carpet shops were also torched.
Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies in a swift response foiled miscreants’ bid to torch a private bank. Chief Fire Officer Ehtisham said, “The bank was partially damaged, however, police and Rangers responded in time and saved the bank”.
In the meantime, Liaquatabad police claimed to have detained 31 people allegedly involved in riots and violence within Liaquatabad town.
Heavy gunfire, which could be heard in several parts of metropolis, left two persons Muhammad, 48, son of Mir Hazar and Abdul Razzak, 35, son of Tariq Khan killed near Korangi Dar-ul-Uloom whereas two others Gul Khan, 52 and Kamran, 28, son of Yousuf were gunned down in Gulshan-e-Maymar and Pak Colony respectively.
Later another unidentified youngster was shot dead near Tariq Road Chowrangi within the remits of Ferozabad police station. The body was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for autopsy.
Violence and arson also left some 14 people injured of them seven were shifted to the JPMC, three to the ASH and rest to Civil Hospital Karachi.
Heavy contingents of police and Rangers were deployed to control the law and order situation. Scores of MQM workers gathered at the funeral prayer of Baig offered at Korangi No 6, Imran Shaheed Ground after Isha prayers. He was buried at a local graveyard of Korangi 6.
Meanwhile, MQM chief Altaf Hussain and Coordination Committee in separate statements expressed profound grief and sorrow on the killing of Baig and demanded higher authorities to take immediate action against the killers of Baig.
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KARACHI: At least six people including member of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Farooq Baig, Monday lost their life in the fresh spate of violence in the metropolis.
Farooq Baig, a member of Muttahida’s Karachi Tanzeemi Committee (KTC) was killed in a firing incident by motorcyclist terrorists near Landhi area of Bagh Korangi.
Baig was targeted today on his way to MQM Headquarters Nine Zero from his house.
Later on, the saboteurs gunned down at least two people on Korangi Darul Uloom Road. The deceased could not be identified as yet.
Man was shot to death Near Bara Board in Pak Colony. Also, unidentified miscreants opened fire at people sitting at a hotel in Orangi Town, killing a man and injuring another one.
Another man was killed in firing incident in Tariq Road area.
Following the killings, violence erupted in the metropolis and a bank and at least 27 vehicles were set on fire.
Six vehicles were torched in Landhi and Korangi areas. A dumper and two mini-buses were set ablaze in Liaquatabad. Three buses and the same number of cars were incinerated at Punjab Chowrangi. A passenger coach was burned down near Urdu College Gulshah-e-Iqbal.
At least six vehicles were set on fire near Sindhi Hotel, Malir and Pak Colony. Also in Khokhrapar, two vehicles were torched.
Spurred by violent occurrences and firing incidents, commercial centers and businesses including petrol pumps were closed down in various areas including Landhi, Korangi, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Gulshah-e-Iqbal and Nazimabad.
Condemning in strong words the killing of Farooq Baig, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain said he was extremely grieved on the killing of his workers. SAMAA
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Garment factory set ablaze at Qasba Morr in Qasbah Colony. Not sure if it's a "factory" or a warehouse.
Karachi violence, over 65 dead: Live updates
Published: July 7, 2011
8:55pm
Express 24/7 correspondent Sabin Agha reports that in all 27 people have been gunned down in the city today in one of the worst days of violence the city has seen since the coalition government came to power.
Three buses were targeted in Banaras which killed 13 people. Armed men attacked passengers aboard buses of route W25, 1D and Mashallah coach.
Five people were killed in Orangi town including a six year old girl.
One person each had been gunned down in Korangi, Baldia, Malir, Ram Swami, Gulistan-e-Jauhar and Garden areas of Karachi during the day.
Situation tense in many parts of Karachi including Qasba Colony, Muslim Colony, Bokhari Colony, Kati Pahari, Pehlwan Goth, and Malir.
Agha reported that Orangi town had completely shutdown, and any one who ventured into open spaces was fired upon.
8:50pm
According to Express 24/7, today has been one of the worst days in Karachi since violence erupted after the fall of the coalition government in Sindh.
Escalating violence in Qasba Colony has forced residents to relocate to safer places.
8:45pm
President of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry urged residents of Karachi to remain calm. He dispelled reports that the MQM had called for a strike on Friday.
Meanwhile miscreants had reportedly torched a factory in Qasba colony. However, officials of the fire department denied knowledge of any such event.
Traffic near Metro cinema has resumed after armed men had opened fire in the area short while ago.
8:35pm
AFP reports that at least 10 passengers were killed and 20 injured when armed men opened fire on two buses in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi, officials said.
“Unknown armed men intercepted two buses on a road in Banaras Chowk neighbourhood and shot indiscriminately on the passengers, killing at least 10 and wounding 20 others,” provincial home ministry official, Sharfuddin Memon, told AFP.
He said identity of the attackers – who escaped via the narrow lanes of the neighbourhood after the assault – was not immediately known.
8:15pm
Unknown miscreants reportedly set six motorcycles on fire at a factory in Qasba colony.
Traffic department reports that the heavy traffic gridlock near National Stadium and Baloch Colony bridges is easing. While traffic on M. A. Jinnah road is less than normal.
8:09pm
The Karachi Transport Union has called a strike in the city till the transporters are provided with protection. President of the union, Irshad Bokhari, says the strike has been called after four buses were targeted by gunmen today.
Meanwhile, Presidency’s spokesperson Farhatullah Babar says that President Zardari is gravely concerned about the continuous acts of violence in Karachi. He said the President has summoned a meeting of top level officials to find an end to violence in Karachi.
8:05pm
According to Express 24/7, at least 27 people have been killed in shooting incidents in various areas of Karachi since this morning raising the three-day death toll to 60.
8:00pm
Fuel pumps across the city have shut down causing great difficulty for commuters.
One petrol pump on Khayaban-e-Bahria has been besieged by hundreds of motorists and people seeking fuel in bottles. The pump manager says that the station is almost bone-dry.
Some commuters waiting in line at the pump said that they had been waiting for as long as four hours to top up their tanks, however hundreds of people on foot, carrying bottles and jerry-cans had encircled the lone working pump at the station.
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7:50pm
The president of People’s Party’s Karachi division, Syed Najmi Alam, General Secretary and the infromation Secretary Latif Mughal have strongly condemned the terrorist attack on Express television reporters on Thursday. They demanded the government provide security to media-men as well as innocent citizens.
Pakistani paramilitary soldiers patrol the streets of a western neighbourhood affected by the political violence in Karachi on July 7, 2011. PHOTO: AFP
Pakistani paramilitary soldiers patrol the streets of a western neighbourhood affected by the political violence in Karachi on July 7, 2011. PHOTO: AFP MQM MNAs, MPAs and Senators to protest outside parliament and the provincial assembly. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
KARACHI: A wave of violence has gripped the metropolis on Thursday, with at least 50 people killed over the last 3 days.
7:35pm
Express 24/7 Reporter Shaheryar Mirza reports 10 killed in firing on a bus in Banaras, two in Qasba, one in Metroville areas of Karachi within the past hour.
7:20pm
President Asif Ali Zardari has demanded a report on the ongoing violence in Karachi.
Five people have been killed as gunmen opened fire on two buses in Banaras colony.
Karachi violence: MQM meeting ends, no strike announced
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) elected representatives will protest against the ongoing wave of violence in Karachi.
MQM Rabita Committee members held a meeting to discuss the ongoing violence in Karachi on Thursday.
Speaking to the media in Karachi, MQM leader Raza Haroon said that the party had taken a number of decisions regarding the inaction over incidents of violence in the city. He said MQM Sindh MPAs will march from Karachi Press Club to the Chief Minister house tomorrow (Friday).
Haroon said the MQM had the option of a strike if the government did not take any action and the situation did not improve in Karachi.
He alleged that security forces were not taking action in areas hit by violence and added that the government was punishing the MQM for leaving the coalition.
MQM protest scheduled
Express 24/7 correspondent, Shaheryar Mirza reported MQM Sindh MPAs will protest outside Karachi Press Club at 3pm tomorrow (Friday). MNAs, MPAs and senators will also protest outside the parliament and the provincial assembly but no date has been given as yet.
Earlier, media reports of the MQM announcing a strike had caused panic across the city, with businesses shutting down and citizens lining up at petrol stations for fuel.
The party has not made any announcement of a strike as yet.
The session was summoned in the backdrop of relentless bloodshed in the city, particularly in localities of Orangi Town, including Gulfamabad, Qasba Colony and the Katti Pahari area.
Violence continues
Eleven people have been killed in different shooting incidents across the city since morning.
Three people were shot dead in Baldia Town, Qasba Colony and Gulistan-e-Johar areas of Karachi. Three others were killed near Makki Masjid in the Garden area.
In the latest episode of violence, two people were killed when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a minibus in Orangi Town.
The Express 24/7 news team was also attacked while covering the situation in Qasba Colony.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik has taken notice of the situation and has sought a report from Inspector General of Police (IG) Sindh. He has also issued directives to deploy more security personnel to violence hit areas of the city.
New security team: Eagle Force
IG Sindh Wajid Durrani has said that a new security force, Eagle Force, will be deployed to the violence hit areas of Karachi.
Speaking to trades at Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI), Durrani said the situation in the city was not satisfactory and security agencies were taking steps to restore law and order.
He said criminal elements were trying to create misunderstanding between political groups.
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Deadly attack on buses in Pakistan city
At least 10 passengers were killed and 20 injured when armed men opened fire on two buses in Karachi.
Last Modified: 07 Jul 2011 15:41
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At least 10 passengers were killed and 20 others injured on Wednesday when armed men opened fire on two buses in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, officials said.
"Unknown armed men intercepted two buses on a road in Banaras Chowk neighbourhood and shot indiscriminately on the passengers, killing at least 10 and wounding 20 others," provincial home ministry official, Sharfuddin Memon, told AFP news agency.
The figures were confirmed by to Al Jazeera by the inspector general of police, who said another 15 people were targeted and shot dead in different areas across Karachi – bringing today's death toll to 25 people.
The fresh wave of violence in the city began on Tuesday with at least 47 people reported to have been killed in the city in the past 36 hours, DawnNews reported.
The violence which broke out in Orangi Town spread to Lyari, Baldia Town, Site and Gulshan-i-Iqbal areas.
Police said that armed men hijacked one of the minibuses from Rashid Minhas Road and shot five passengers - three of whom were relatives, in the head. The assailants managed to escape after dumping the vehicle in the Ziaul Haq Colony in Gulshan-i-Iqbal.
A spokesman for the Awami National Party claimed that at least two of its workers were killed and seven wounded in incidents of firing on Wednesday.
Although the government claimed to have sent further reinforcements of police and Rangers to the affected areas, law-enforcement personnel failed to quell the violence.
Police claimed it arrested over 100 individuals suspected of being involved in the violence. City Officials officials blame the third straight day of violence blamed on political and ethnic tensions.
The city is frequently plagued by sectarian killings, crime and kidnappings.
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Karachi paralysed by violence: Latest updates
Updated at: 1428 PST, Friday, July 08, 2011
Karachi paralysed by violence: Latest updates KARACHI: The wave of violence continues for the fourth consecutive day in the city and over 80 people have lost their lives, Geo News reported.
KARACHI VIOLENCE UPDATES:
15:45
Shoot to kill orders issued against miscreants: Rehman Malik
Targeted operation conducted yesterday: Rehman Malik
89 people arrested in connection with the violence: Malik
Patrolling of areas will be divided between police and rangers: minister
Rehman Malik: Will call more security personnel from other provinces if need arises
85 people killed during 4 days of violence: Rehman
Held talks with MQM, ANP and other political parties: Rehman Malik
15:30
Intense firing reported at Joria Bazzar
15:00
Death toll from incidents of violence in the city rises to 20, 25 injured
Notification issued for the deployment of 1000 FC officers to help maintain law and order
Geo News correspondent Zill-e-Haider reports that Orangi Town and other areas of the city remain tense and residents are leaving the area. Hand grenades attacks are being reported at Lee Market. Firing is being reported at Sultanabad, Hassan Sqaure and Katti Pahari.
14:35
Baldia Town firing: Two injured from firing pass away
14:30
89 criminals arrested from different areas of the city: IG Sindh
Criminals involved in acts of violence in the city arrested: IG Sindh
Kalashnikovs, 20 TT pistols and other ammunition recovered: IG Sindh
14:10
One killed, two injured as a result of earlier firing incident near Hassan Square: MLO Jinnah Hospital
14:00
Two injured due to firing near Hassan Square: Hospital sources
16 killed due to violence in the city on Friday
13:40
Maintaining law and order is the responsibility of the government: Nisar Khuro
Steps being taken to increase patrolling in troubled areas: Acting Sindh Governor Nisar Khuro
13:20
One injured in firing on car in Hassan Square
Do not expect anything from the government, people should protect themselves: Jam Madad Ali
12:45
One killed, five injured due to hand grenade attack in Bhimpura
Fresh clashes are being reported in Esa Nagri where an exchange of fire between groups continues. The miscreants are targeting residential areas with rockets and bombs. Residents of these affected areas are moving to safer areas.
Earlier on Friday morning, armed men attacked several houses with rockets and hurled hand grenades into the residential area of Baldia Town, injuring four people including a woman and a child. Terror gripped the area after the attack.
Residents of these areas took to the streets and staged a protest demonstration against the attacks. They said that law enforcement agencies have failed to control the law and order situation.
Meanwhile, police conducted raids in these areas and held five suspects. Police also recovered weapons and motorcycle from the miscreants.
===
Friday, July 08, 2011
Karachi violence takes ugly turn
* 29 killed, 50 injured on the third day running of bloody murders
* 10 killed as gunmen open indiscriminate fire on two passenger buses
By Atif Raza
KARACHI: The business hub city of the country, Karachi, has sunk deeper into ethnic violence as 34 more people were mowed down on Thursday. With no let-up in the escalating tension and normalcy in the security situation in sight in the near future, the death toll topped 70 in straight three days of bloodshed.
Apart from firing incidents in other areas of Karachi, the epicentre of intense firing and grenade attacks by unidentified attackers remains the hills around Orangi Town. Areas like Banaras, Qasba, Pirabad, Baldia, Saeedabad, Gulistan-e-Johar, North Karachi, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Sarjani, Old Subzi Mandi and others are facing a war-like situation.
Scores of people residing in Orangi Town and its surroundings have received gunshot wounds inside their houses that had prompted a near mass exodus.
While law enforcement agencies seem “toothless”, citizens prefer to stay at home for fear of further armed attacks.
Reportedly, at least 10 commuters lost their lives near Banaras Bridge when unidentified attackers riding bikes fired shells at a minibus.
In a similar incident, three people were killed and eight others, including women and children, wounded when a passenger coach was targeted by unidentified gunmen in the limits of the SITE Police Station. Fifteen dead bodies and 35 injured were brought to Qatar and Abbasi Shaheed hospitals. The victims were from Orangi Town, Islamia Colony, Pirabad, Qasba and Kati Pahari areas An MQM activist, Tanveer Hussain, was gunned down in Qasba Colony.
In Pirabad area, four people, including Akhter, Azam, Shahzad and one unknown, were killed due to the shooting by unidentified gunmen. A town office in Saeedabad Sector 7 was attacked by unidentified arsonists. A six-year-old girl, Laiba, was hit by two bullets in Pirabad area on her way back to home. She died instantly. Alamgir, 30, a resident of Muslimabad, was gunned down by unidentified assassins. In Qasba Colony, one Zohaib was killed while Muhammad Shah, Mazhar Abbas, Pervaiz, Miandad, Mina Bibi and Yaqoob received bullets wounds. Yaqoob Pathan sustained burn injuries and later died when some arsonists torched his residence near a police checkpost. Another ANP activist, Imtiaz Afridi, and Shahrukh Pasha, 29, were shot dead in Baldia Town.
Bullet-riddled body of Zahid Baloch was recovered from Memon Goth. A 26-year-old unidentified man was gunned down at Kalakot.
Three more people fell prey to targeted killings in Mominabad area. One Bakhtawar and unknown man were killed in Orangi Town’s Sector 13 late on Thursday night. A man, Muhammad Anwar, was shot dead near his house in Raja Tanvir Colony.
In Baldia Town, late night firing on a bus killed one Ihsan and injured three others. In Pirabad and Gulshan-e-Iqbal areas, two people were killed by unidentified gunmen late on Thursday night.
====
Karachi's ethnic, political violence kills up to 85 over four days
08 Jul 2011 11:31
Source: reuters // Reuters
Arbaz, 10, stands with his decorated family horse as he waits to offer customers a ride at Karachi's Clifton Beach in the early morning July 3, 2011. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
(Updates death toll, adds arrests, updates stock index) (.)
By Faisal Aziz
KARACHI, July 8 (Reuters) - Pakistani police and paramilitary troops were ordered on Friday to shoot on sight in its largest city Karachi as up to 85 people were killed in a surge in ethnic and political violence over four days.
Shops and fuel stations were shut and public transport idled after the city's dominant political party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), announced a day of mourning in response to the latest violence in the country's financial hub.
" Of the 80-85 people martyred, most of them are innocent people," Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters. "Very few are politically affiliated people."
He added 89 people had been arrested since last night for involvement in violence.
A police source said 18 people had been killed since midnight.
"We have issued orders to the security forces to shoot anyone involved in violence on the spot," Sharjeel Memon, the provincial information minister, told Reuters.
"In addition to the police and Rangers, another 1,000 personnel of the Frontier Constabulary will be deployed in the city to control the violence," he said, referring to another paramilitary force.
"Thirty-seven people were killed yesterday alone," Memon said.
VIOLENCE SPREADING
Most of the casualties over the past three days were reported in the city's western Qasba Colony and adjoining areas -- a multi-ethnic, lower middle class neighbourhood.
But slowly, trouble is spreading to other parts of the city.
Firing could be heard in several areas on Friday, and in some spots residents burned tyres and threw stones at the few passing vehicles on the street.
Huddles of people waited in vain at bus stops for public transport and most shops were closed. Every few kilometres, a small group of lightly armed police stood a wary watch.
The stock market was open, but the main index was down 0.42 percent by 3:30 pm (01030 GMT) in light trade.
"Not many people are willing to trade today and everyone is concerned about the situation in the city," said Sajid Bhanji, a director at brokers Arif Habib Ltd.
"The stock market has also announced that the settlement of today's trades will be done on Monday, which shows they are worried about the situation."
Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani appealed for peace, calling for the country to unite against the city's violence.
At a function honouring Pakistan's Special Olympics athletes, he stressed the importance of Karachi to the country's economic health. Peace there, he said, "will strengthen the economy of the country".
HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
Karachi, home to more than 18 million people, has a long history of ethnic, religious and sectarian violence.
It was a main target of al Qaeda-linked militants after the Sept. 11 2001 attacks on the United States, when Pakistan joined the U.S.-led campaign against militancy, and foreigners were attacked in the city several times.
A recent report from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said 1,138 people were killed in Karachi in the first six months of 2011, of whom 490 were victims of political, ethnic and sectarian violence.
The latest surge in violence in the southern city came days after the MQM announced it was quitting the ruling coalition.
The MQM, which mostly represents the Mohajirs -- descendents of Urdu-speakers who migrated from India after the creation of Pakistan in 1947 -- and its rival, the ethnic Pashtun-based Awami National Party (ANP), are blamed for most of the violence, though both parties deny the charges.
The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad released a statement from Ambassador Cameron Munter condemning the violence.
"We call on all parties to refrain from further violence and work toward a peaceful resolution of differences," the statement read.
TROUBLING QUESTIONS
In some ways, Karachi raises more troubling questions over Pakistan's stability than the northwest border regions seen as a global hub for militants and a huge concern for the West.
As the commercial hub, any trouble could disturb industrial activity, and have serious consequences for the economy.
"If the government does not pay immediate attention to the worsening situation of Karachi, and does not stop the loss of innocent blood, we will shut down our business centres and industries," Muhammad Saeed Shafiq, president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in a statement.
According to officials, Karachi contributes 68 percent of the government's total revenue and 25 percent of GDP.
That means a lot of money -- and power -- is at stake.
"This can be summed up in five words - a turf war between political parties," Imtiaz Gul, author of "The Most Dangerous Place: Pakistan's Lawless Frontier" told Reuters.
"This is a turf war between the MQM, and ANP and the PPP, for territory -- for political space in this big city."
The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) is trying to redraw electoral districts, which would disadvantage the MQM, he said, and many local political leaders have connections to criminal gangs that run rampant in the city.
"It's definitely a political and ethnic issue, and a strong political commitment would be needed to bring peace to the city," said a senior security official, requesting not to be named.
"To open fire and kill a few miscreants may stop the violence for now, but in the long-run, a political resolution is a must, or else we will see another surge after a few days."
(Additional reporting by Imtiaz Shah in Karachi and Rebecca Conway in Islamabad; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Sugita Katyal)
====
KARACHI: More than 90 people have been killed during the last four days in an ongoing wave of violence that has hit Karachi and paralysed life in the port city.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is observing a day of mourning today (Friday).
The Sindh government has given shoot-at-sight orders to law enforcers.
7:15pm
Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has said that the PPP, MQM and ANP are responsible for the ongoing violence in the city and that the parties would have to arrest their own workers to control the situation.
Opposition leader in Sindh Assembly, Jam Madad Ali says the government has failed to restore peace in the city. He said that the interior minister knew who was responsible for violence in the city and that bringing in the FC will not restore peace in the city.
6:45pm
Express 24/7 correspondent, Shaheryar Mirza reports an operation is currently underway at Kati Pahari.
6:35pm
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and MQM have submitted a joint requisition for calling a National Assembly session on the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi.
The requisition calls for a debate on the worsening condition in the city and failure of the law enforcement agencies in maintaining peace in the city.
6:00pm
Express 24/7 correspondent, Shaheryar Mirza reports firing has not stopped in Qasba Colony despite two police trucks arriving in the area.
Residents in the area are saying gunmen have started going into houses and are shooting people and setting houses on fire. Firing and screaming can be heard in the area, reports Mirza.
5:40pm
Radio Pakistan has started special broadcasts to meet challenges rising out of the ongoing violence in the city, PPI reported.
In case of emergency, people can call 021-99232096 and 021-99230464 for assistance. The helpline will communicate difficulties being faced by the people to the concerned departments.
5:20pm
Thirteen people have been injured as a result of firing in Old Sabzi Mandi and Qasba Colony.
Anwer Kazmi, who works for Pakistan’s largest charity, the Edhi Foundation, said it was difficult to deliver food and water because of incessant gunfire.
“Seven of our ambulances have been fired on so far and one of our volunteers has been shot and injured,” he told AFP.
Local residents in troubled neighbourhoods spoke of their fear, saying they were running out of supplies and could do little but cower at home.
“The walls of my house are riddled with bullets. Many of our household items have been destroyed. Most of time we duck inside the house to save ourselves from frequent volleys of bullets,” said Akber Khan from Orangi neighbourhood.
“We are so afraid. We haven’t slept for nights. One day I was on my balcony, when some bullets were fired at our house, Allah saved me. I haven’t been on the balcony since,” said third-grade student Shaista Ahmed, eight.
“Most people in our neighbourhood are short of food and water. Our children are hungry and thirsty,” fellow resident Mohammad Imran also told AFP, as gunfire could be heard in the background down the telephone line.
Witnesses said many people have started fleeing troubled neighbourhoods to stay with relatives in safer areas.
The worst affected areas are impoverished, thickly populated neighbourhoods in the western part of the city, dotted with construction sites where armed men of different ethnicities are exchanging gunfire.
4:05pm
Malik said both the MQM and ANP had identified troubled areas and the government will focus on these spots after verification.
He said that well trained FC personnel have been called in from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The interior minister said the government was using Google maps to identify troubled areas. He said the law enforcement personnel have been ordered to take action against miscreants regardless of their party affiliation.
He said an operation will soon be launched and no media personnel will allowed in those areas due to safety reasons.
4:00pm
The interior minister said miscreants were using children and the elderly for protection and police was taking action against them.
He said out of the arrested very few had political affiliation.
Malik said the late night operation could not be launched properly due to power cuts in the city.
3:45pm
Interior Minister Rehman Malik is addressing the media in Karachi.
Malik has said that 89 people have been arrested since targeted operations were launched last night. He said out of the arrested 12 were found to be Urdu-speaking, 19 Pakhtun and 3 Baloch.
3:30pm
Irfan Aligi reports that people with injured relatives have been forced to stay at hospitals due to nonavailability of transport and heavy firing in different areas.
Aligi also reports that Bacha Khan flyover, Kati Pahari and Bab-e-Khyber in Metrovile have become volatile areas for those using public transport.
3:20pm
Four shops have been set on fire in Paan Mandi and Khara areas.
Two police trucks have arrived in Qasba Colony, reports Express 24/7correspondent Shaheryar Mirza.
An MQM and ANP leader were involved in a heated debate on a television channel and blamed each other for the ongoing violence in the city.
3:15pm
Irfan Aligi reports sources have said the MQM has issued stern directives to all unit and sector incharge to stay vigilant in their respective areas.
Special watchmen teams have been formed to guard areas adjacent to affected localities.
Aligi reports that people in different areas did not offer prayers atjamia masjids and either stayed home or went to smaller mosques in the vicinity of their residences.
Attendance is low at the offices of City District Government Karachi (CDGK), Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) and Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB).
Aligi also reports that town level offices remained open but with very low attendance.
3:05pm
“This can be summed up in five words – a turf war between political parties,” security analyst Imtiaz Gul told Reuters.
“This is a turf war between the MQM, and ANP and the PPP, for territory – for political space in this big city.”
2:50 pm
The Express Tribune reporter Saba Imtiaz says that the Sindh Rangers have arrived in Joona Market. Gunfire has reportedly stopped.
Here’s the Twitter update:
arafattehsin Black sheep in media are just ranting around for their own good, so are political parties. #Karachi
zehrarizvi Annoying that stories about Karachi violence (very city specific–political and ethnic) end with something about the Taliban…NOT RELATED!
anushkabelle i have never seen Karachi this empty and sad before. its about time all political parties came together and saved #Karachi for a change
SaifQuadri Why is #Karachi in such bad shape??? :(
Saba_Imtiaz Right, felt like that last volley went off right next to us.
saadbinshahid A CNBC reporter puts it very well,”Not humans but humanity is being killed in #Karachi“
sohails1977 I wish we could have every day in Karachi so quiet and calm like today…of course…minus the violence…well…just a wish!!!
2:40 pm
Express 24/7 correspondent Shaheryar Mirza reports that 89 suspects have been arrested in Karachi by police.
Mirza reports that 20 pistols and one kalashnikov have also been seized, and that there are raids taking place in three zones of Karachi according to IG Sindh.
Mirza added that firing resumed again as about four shots are fired in Qasba Colony at the Gazzafi Chowk.
2:20pm
Irfan Aligi reports the Awami National Party has claimed that 161 families have been forced to migrate from District East areas, including Korangi, Shah Faisal Colony and Malir to Pushtoon dominated areas.
Sources have said the MQM is gathering data of people who have been forced to migrate to safer areas and is making arrangements for rations and other essential commodities.
2:10pm
The Express Tribune‘s Saba Imtiaz reports that there has been a volley of gunfire in Juna Market.
Twitter buzz:
YusraSAskari I hate strife induced long weekends even more! RT @sanakazmi: i hate long weekends.
Saba_Imtiaz Karachi’s cameramen and photogs are pulling off some heroic stuff today.
thekarachikid Karachi is a complete ghost town today. Well, at least this part of it.http://ow.ly/i/e2aI& http://ow.ly/i/e2aL & http://ow.ly/i/e2aQ
hiranajam wow Karachi, talk about being deserted.
2:05pm
Irfan Aligi reports load-shedding has worsened in some areas. A high tension electricity cable has fallen on the street in Qasba Colony.
A police officer has said that he has not been able to go on duty for the last three days as a result of heavy cross firing. He says rations have finished and all markets in the area are closed.
Aligi spoke to another resident in the area who said that families were being forced to migrate to safer areas. He said people will be forced to become IDPs and take shelter in refugee camps if the situation did improve.
1:45pm
The Express Tribune’s Irfan Aligi has reported that the MQM is expected to announce a new schedule for the protest rally and MQM MPAs are also expected to submit an adjournment motion in the Sindh Assembly tomorrow (Saturday). The rally was postponed as a result of situation in the city.
Residents of violence hit areas have started fleeing to homes of relatives located in nearby areas.
There is a shortage of flour, milk and other cooking items in Qasba Colony.
Aligi reported an MQM MPA, under police cover, had fetched rations for people in affected areas. Residents have said more ration is required.
Twitter buzz:
MatthewGreenFT Karachi getting uglier, residents reporting killings in neighbourhoods that have been peaceful in previous bouts of violence
jahanarawattoo Karachi has become Titanic, but whoever doing this, its really not worth it over so many dead bodies
saadbinshahid Inshallah ~ A day will come, when there will be all good in Karachi and all of us will live here happily after forever.
smitaprakash Appeal to maintain peace in Karachi has come in from Amb Munter (via @YusraSAskari ) Where are the PM and President? Any statements?
1:00pm
MQM has cancelled the protest rally which was to be taken out from Karachi Press Club to the Chief Minister House.
12:20pm
Express 24/7 correspondent, Shaheryar Mirza reports fighting has spread to different parts of the city, including Kharadar, Banaras, Kati Pahari, SITE, Baldia Town and Korangi.
Miscreants are reportedly firing from the rooftops and windows of houses in different areas.
“What good is a day of mourning? We haven’t had any food, water or petrol in the last three days,” a resident of Qasba Colony said in response to the MQM call for a day of mourning.
There are no reports of Rangers or Police conducting raids. Police is yet to enter some neighbourhoods.
Twitter buzz:
Razarumi Shame on the political parties, their death squads and gangs in #Karachi which are killing poor innocent citizens of this wretched country
ammaryasir Situation in Karachi is all time worse in recent times but running tickers like: Khi main khoon ki holi etc is only sensationalizing news.
kashaziz Why Dr. Ishrat ul Ibad left Karachi for Dubai as soon as he resigned as Governor Sindh?
bilalshaw Dont you think that the citizens of Karachi must remove the flags of different political parties from the roof..
farrukhahmed no rain, no business, no traffic, no light! Karachi
BinaShah Oh, Karachi, my love.
jahanarawattoo Karachi has become Titanic, but whoever doing this, its really not worth it over so many dead bodies
12:00pm
Three people have been killed near Hassan Square and Sabzi Mandi.
The Embassy of the United States in Pakistan has expressed concern over the escalating violence in Karachi
A statement released by US ambassador, Cameron Munter, called on all parties to refrain from further violence and work towards a peaceful resolution.
Twitter buzz:
tasnimfatima We are sick of being shut down every now and then !
khan_maaz Only if the political parties understand the cost of a strike… Karachi
Pin drop silence in a commercial area Karachi
mirza9 Death toll is increasing by the half hour, impossible to keep up. going to stop updating the death toll. crossed 85 now Karachi
Aadill If there is no writ of the government, and it is the case, Army should be called up to restore the order in Karachi.
11:35am
The Karachi transporters union, traders association and several petrol pump owners have announced a strike to protest the ongoing violence.
More than 90 percent of the petrol pumps in the city have shut down,Express 24/7 reports.
Major markets are also shut down in the city.
Transporters are complaining the government is not providing them enough security.
Twitter buzz:
Saba_Imtiaz Abdul Sattar Edhi appeals for calm as the city goes up in flames. Again. Dozens of their ambulances have been fired on.
AndieDeArment sad for Karachi today but always amazed by the resilience of the city & its people
RiazToori Prez Asif Ali #Zardari further directed all concerned 2 deal sternly with criminal elements regardless of political affiliations in Karachi
baylinveil Ethnic violence in Karachi, offices closed, long weekend. This feels like, well, all of my childhood except I’m not excited about it anymore
Hafsa_Khawaja To say our hearts bleed for Karachi, would be an understatement. Whats the solution to its situation other than massive deweaponization?
NadeemfParacha Karachi quiet. But more birds in the sky than usual. Chalo, something good coming from a strike that’s not a strike is a strike.
shyyawn Any updates on the Karachi situation. Do we go to offices normally or should we wait and see? What’s the scene out there?
Saba_Imtiaz Very little traffic on the roads. Cabbie says he was stopped by some men on Shahrah-e-Faisal and told not go further.
11:20am
Heavy contingents of police have been deployed in Baldia Town, Ghousia Mohalla and Muslim Mujahid Colony.
All shops and markets in Hyderabad and interior Sindh have been shut down.
Security forces are set to launch a crackdown against miscreants but no arrests have been made so far.
11:16am
Eleven people have been killed overnight.
One person was killed in North Karachi and a body was found from Soldier market.
Two people were killed in Orangi Town, one person was shot dead in Joriya Bazaar, two in Kharadar, two in Qasba Colony, one near Kati Pahari and two people, including a 6-year old boy, were killed in New Karachi and Baldia Town.
===
The origins of Karachi's wars
By Shaheryar Mirza, July 8, 2011 Friday, July 8, 2011 - 1:00 PM Share
At least 90 people have been killed and scores wounded in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, over the last four days. The wave of violence was set in motion when a Pashtun-nationalist Awami National Party (ANP) activist was attacked on Tuesday, an act that led to another ten murders as gun battles broke out in the Orangi Town neighborhood, which has borne the brunt of the violence. Orangi Town is a lower income neighborhood located on the outskirts of the city. The grip on power in Orangi has become tenuous for the ethnic Muhajir Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Karachi's largest and most powerful political party, as Pashtun migrants have started to settle in the area, bolstering the ANP's potential for power.
Politics in Karachi is a war of demographics, and ethnic capital is its most potent weapon. The MQM since its inception has always had a demographic advantage in the city, but over the years, large scale immigration from the north has slowly eroded this edge. The violent nature of politics in Karachi has meant that as land and votes become more valuable, individual lives begins to lose their worth.
The current explosion of violence is not an aberration, and is especially not new to Orangi Town. 40 people lost their lives in one day last August after MQM parliamentarian Raza Haider (elected from Orangi Town) was assassinated. But then and now, the most dangerous aspect of the violence is that much of it is arbitrary. We refer to them as "targeted killings" but most of them are not. Gunmen open fire on buses suspected to be driven by or carrying Pashtun passengers. Indiscriminate fire is opened on a marketplace because the stores may be run by Muhajirs. People are killed because of their ethnicity and appearance, yet the distinction between both sides has become so weak that anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time can be killed for wearing a Pashtun shalwar kurta, or on the other side the Muhajir staple "pant-shirt." The majority of those killed in the last four days have been civilians caught in the crossfire or those targeted for their ethnicity alone. This wanton carnage works well for the respective political parties, as it perpetuates the propaganda that the other ethnic group is a threat to their existence and helps to establish the party's writ in the neighborhood. The animosity between the communities increases, further entrenching the political parties within their strongholds. Local elections and the local government system have also been a source of great tension, adding fuel to the turf war.
And violence in Karachi isn't restricted to killing. It also works as a form of economic oppression. People in Orangi Town have been rushing out of the area when they have an opportunity, as many businesses are closed, and the area's residents have trouble acquiring basic necessities. This indirect pressure works to drive people out of an area, "cleansing" it, if you will. The financial losses suffered during violence and strikes in Karachi is staggering. Both ethnic groups are affected by this kind of economic warfare, and find themselves pushed out of their respective areas.
The use of violent acts such as the burning of vehicles, stoning of cars, and the destruction of other property has become an accepted form of protest in this city. Violence is used as a political tool, and no party has made a serious effort to remove it from their repertoire. The MQM is commonly blamed as the dominant perpetrator of violence and extortion in the city, and it has become clear that in order to compete, other parties feel that they have to play the same game. Every major party in Karachi has militant tendencies, and the city is armed to the teeth. From the top politicians, landowners and industrialists to the foot-soldiers of the underworld, guns are more visible than the national flag.
The de-weaponization program that was drawn up by the provocative former Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza was shelved along with his post in April this year. A Deputy Superintendent of the police (DSP) told me that he has yet to see a government in Karachi that is willing to initiate such a program. Before the city can be disarmed, the assumption that one's political party can police it's own stronghold must disappear. In a city of approximately 15-20 million people, a force of thirty-thousand underpaid and ill-equipped police are expected to keep the peace, while a substantial amount of them are tasked specifically with protecting VIPs. Yet the police force has at the same time become politicized, because political parties don't allow the police to function in an independent capacity. The veteran DSP I mentioned earlier told me that he can only recall one Inspector General of Sindh province, Jahangir Mirza, who was not appointed on a purely political basis and was willing to stand up to powerful, landed, politicians.
The one question that eludes many is how much direct control the upper echelons of the political parties have over the lower cadres. When it is time for a strike, the top leadership has the power to mobilize the entire party to observe and carry out the strike. Is it logical, then, to assume that the control over political violence is the same? Probably not, as so much of the violence is arbitrary, and unrest often provides an excuse to settle many personal and very localized enmities or disputes. Amidst the fog of this particular war, the answer remains elusive.
This spate of violence has revolved around ethnic and political tensions. A week earlier the clashes were of a more sectarian nature. But even though the vast majority of people in Karachi, regardless of their religious sect or ethnicity don't have an interest in the conflict, they are beholden to the interests of the powerful. And Karachi residents have grown tired of having their productivity brought to a halt every few weeks. This year a stunning 490 people have been killed in targeted killings, according to the Human Rights Commission for Pakistan (the BBC reported this week that 1,100 people had been killed this year in Karachi).
The political violence in the city always dies down, but it is never because a political solution has been achieved. It dies down because pitched battles in the streets are not sustainable, not because political parties have laid down their arms. It only comes to a halt when the parties reach the threshold where their own communities start to question their credibility. The resilient -- yet, at times, resigned -- residents on the streets and in police stations cynically say, "martial law is the best revenge." It is tragically ironic that there is already martial law in Karachi; it's just not the army that is in charge of it.
Shaheryar Mirza has a masters in journalism and public affairs from American University in Washington D.C. and works as a reporter for Express 24/7 in Karachi, Pakistan. Follow him on twitter @mirza9.
ASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images
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Ten killed in fresh Karachi violence
Updated 13 minutes ago
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[Ten killed in fresh Karachi violence]
KARACHI: After four days of peace, violence returned to the streets of the metropolis. Firing between two groups in Malir and Landhi led to the death of ten while sixteen others were injured, Geo News reported. Rangers were deployed to Malir to maintain law and order.
According to police, firing started in Malir on Friday morning and continued for several hours. The firing resulted in the death of six people while 12 others who were injured were taken to the Jinnah hospital. The body of a young man was taken to the Abbasi Shaeed Hospital, and according to rescue sources the bodies of two men were taken to the Sindh Government Hospital Malir.
In Mohammed Nagar an area located in Landhi 89, firing began Friday morning and one person was killed while two were injured. According to reports a hand grenade explosion also took place in this area
Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) leader Haider Abbas Rizvi said that eight workers were killed during attacks while according to Mohajir Quami Movement leader Khalid Naqshbandi, after eight years of noninterference, four of their workers while returning home were killed in Malir.
Rangers spokesman Major Bilal Farooq said that after receiving directives from the provincial government a huge contingent of Rangers has arrived in Malir to maintain peace.
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Mqm Activist: Gunmen target doctor
Published: July 22, 2011
KARACHI: Dr Abid Hussain, 35, was critically injured when gunmen opened fire on him at his Jawad clinic in Surjani town’s Sector 36/E area on Thursday evening. According to a spokesperson at Nine Zero, the doctor was a Muttahida Qaumi Movement activist and was a central member of the Muttahida Organising Committee. According to Edhi sources, Abid was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where doctors were struggling to save his life. The Surjani duty officer said that no one had come forward yet to lodge a FIR. Sources said that a woman identified as Nasreen, was also injured and was taken to Jinnah hospital, the duty officer denied that any woman was shot.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 22nd, 2011.
Malik claims Katti Pahari suspects wanted to sow trouble among political outfits. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Thursday pointed fingers at a certain ‘political party’ for its alleged involvement in targeted killings in the Katti Pahari neighbourhood of Karachi.
Speaking on the floor of the house, Malik said, “In response to the allegations by MQM’s Senator Haseeb Khan, I would say on Karachi’s violence: Dekha Jo Teer Kha K Kamin Gah Ki Taraf Apney Hi Doston Se Mulaqat Hogai (When I looked back towards the archers’ camp, I saw many a friendly face there).”
Senator Haseeb had earlier claimed that the government was involved in targeted killings in Karachi and even accused the interior minister of motivating the forces involved in the violence which left 297 people dead within five days.
In his comments, Malik spoke of “certain arrests” that had been made in connection with the Katti Pahari killings but did not identify the suspects who, he said, wanted to sow trouble among political outfits. “Around 154 target killers have been arrested in Karachi, out of them nine were drawn from certain political parties,” he informed the house while acknowledging the existence of political turmoil and sectarianism in Karachi.
The minister requested Senate Deputy Chairman Jan Muhammad Jamali to constitute a high profile committee to probe Karachi’s violence and have an in-camera briefing in the House to know the actual state of affairs.
He also shared that the prime minister had directed him to form a new commission to probe Akbar Bugti’s murder. “Government welcomes dissident Balochs who are ready to respect Pakistani’s flag to discuss all issues,” he added.
Changes in Anti Terrorism Act
Malik sought the prime minister’s help to bring changes in the Anti Terrorism Act to make the laws strict so that terrorists could not get bail from the courts easily. “We acknowledged there were lacunas in the law that they must be removed,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 22nd, 2011.
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Intelligence sharing: ‘US delayed information on bomb-making factories’
Published: July 22, 2011
Army official says no factories were found by the time they were informed. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
WANA:
General Officer Commanding (GOC) Wana Major-General Rizwan has said the United States had delayed passing on information of bomb-making factories in South Waziristan, Express 24/7 reported on Thursday.
Speaking to the media in Wana, Major General Rizwan said the army did not find any such factories in the area when the information was received.
Earlier, CIA chief Leon Panetta shared “evidence of suspected collusion with pro-Afghan Taliban militants in the tribal areas” with Pakistan’s senior military leaders.
According to media reports, Panetta had shared with Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence Director-General Ahmed Shuja Pasha a 10-minute edited video that showed militants evacuating two bomb-making factories in Waziristan. One of the factories was based in Miranshah, North Waziristan while the other was in South Waziristan.
According to sources, Panetta alleged that the militants were tipped off within 24 hours of the US sharing information on the facilities with the Pakistanis.
When Pakistani troops later arrived at the scene of the two bomb-making facilities, the militants were gone.
Sources said that the CIA believes elements within the “Pakistani security apparatus” had informed the militants that they would be targeted.
The GOC said that intrusion of Afghan militants into Pakistan will not be tolerated, adding that permanent deployment of forces in the Shawal area, which borders North and South Waziristan, was impossible.
He added that the operation in the region was being conducted with the help of local people.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 22nd, 2011.
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ALERT
12 gunned down in Karachi-Live blog
M A Hafeez on Jul 22nd, 2011 // % Comments
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Karachi: At least 12 people were killed and over 20 injured in an armed clashes between two rival groups in Karachi on Friday.
4:50 pm
A man was killed when unknown persons opened fire on a bus in Landhi Sherpao Colony. The area was reverberating with intensive firing.
4:30
Unknown assailants attacked a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Unit office.
According to details the two armed groups, belonging to political parties locked horns in Malir Khokrapar, Malir City and Landhi areas of the metropolis , using heavy weaponry and leaving residents of the areas to remain indoors.
Sources said that the dead and injured were shifted to Sindh Government Hospital and Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Complex (JPMC).
Television reports say police and other law enforcement agencies have been avoiding to enter in the area to bring the culprits to justice. Shops and other business remained closed in the area due to intensive firing.
Meanwhile. provincial Home Minister Manzoor Wasan said that only seven people had been killed in Malir and Landhi conflict, adding that it would take time for him to normalise Karachi situation.
He said that incidents of targeted killing had decreased in the metropolis after he took charge as home minister.
Moreover, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Senator Babar Khan Ghauri said three MQM workers had been killed in Malir.
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Karachi violence: Ten killed in Malir shootout
Published: July 22, 2011
Two groups exchanged fire in the Khokarpar area of Malir.
KARACHI: Ten people were killed and 15 injured in an exchange of fire between two groups in the Malir area of Karachi on Friday.
All businesses and shops shut down after a shootout took place between two groups in the Khokarpar area of Malir.
Police has so far not been able to control the situation and a large contingent of Rangers personnel has cordoned off the area.
Inspector General Sindh Wajid Durrani has said a d00r-to-door search operation will be conducted in the area later today.
Express 24/7 correspondent Sabin Agha reported that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has strongly protested the incident on the floor of the Sindh Assembly and has claimed that four party workers were killed in the incident.
MQM leader Sheikh Afzal has alleged that the party had contacted the police, but had been informed that they did not have orders to enter the area.
Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) chief Ahmed Chinoy said the situation in the city was under control and law enforcement agencies are trying their best to maintain peace.
==
Violence in Karachi claims eight more lives
DAWN.COM
(49 minutes ago) Today
Two bodies of unidentified men were found in sacks in Shah Faisal Colony who were shot dead after being tortured. — File Photo
KARACHI: Eight people, including a policeman, were killed in shooting incidents in Karachi taking the death toll to 91 in nine days.
Two bodies of unidentified men were found in sacks in Shah Faisal Colony who were shot dead after being tortured.
In the city’s Pak Colony area, motorcyclists opened fire on a passenger bus near a hotel killing two people.
At Safora Chowk, one person was gunned down by unidentified attackers.
Earlier, during the night between Friday and Saturday, a tortured body was found in the Garden Dhobi Ghat area. Also, a policeman identified as Abdul Rahim was shot dead. The official was deployed at the Darakhshan police station.
One man was killed in another incident of firing between two religious groups in New Karachi.
On Friday, seven people were killed due to firing and violence in different areas of the city.
So far, 91 people have been killed in continued incidents of violence that started on July 22 from the city’s Malir area.
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کراچی میں تشددجاری،ہلاکتیں31ہوگئیں
by Fayyaz Siddiqui on 2 hours ago // No Comment
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کراچی : پاکستان کے کاروباری شہر کراچی میں قیام امن کے لیے زبانی کوششیں، سیاسی رابطے اور امن ریلیاں بے سود ثابت ہوئیں، پیر کو فائرنگ اور پرتشدد واقعات میں اب تک 31افراد کو موت کے گھاٹ اتارا جاچکا ہے جب کہ 7 گاڑیاں اور 60سے زائد موٹرسائکلیں نذرآتش کردی گئیں۔
شہر کے مختلف علاقوں میں فائرنگ اور جلاؤ گھیراؤ کا سلسلہ جاری ہے ، بیشتر مقامات پر بازار سرشام بند ہوگئے، ٹرانسپورٹ نہ ہونے کے برابر ہے۔
تازہ واقعات میں مومن آباد، کورنگی ،شارع نور جہاں اور میجر عزیز بھٹی تھانے کی حدود میں 5 افراد کو فائرنگ کرکے ہلاک کردیا گیا ،سائٹ ایریا اورناظم آباد سے دو دو افراد کی بوری بند لاشیں برآمد ہوئی ہیں،ماڑی پور،اورنگی ٹاؤن کےعلاقے میٹروول اور بلوچ کالونی ، قصبہ کالونی ،صفورہ چورنگی،ھیم پورہ، فیوچر کالونی اور محمود آباد میں فائرنگ سے 6افراد ہلاک ہوگئے جب کہ احسن آباد کے صنعتی یونٹ کے باہر کھڑی50 سے زائدموٹر سائیکلوں کو آگ لگادی گئی۔
صنعتی ایریا میں درجنوں مسلح افراد دندناتے پھر رہے ہیں جس کی وجہ سےملازمین فیکٹری میں محصور ہو کر رہ گئے، مذکورہ علاقے میں پولیس اور رینجرز کے اہلکار تاحال صورتحال کنٹرول کرنے کے لیے نہیں پہنچے۔
قبل ازیں ڈالمیا میں ایک شخص کو گولیاں مار کر قتل کردیاگیا،اسی علاقے سے ایک نامعلوم شخص کی لاش ملی جسے فائرنگ کرکے قتل کیا گیا۔ نیو کراچی اللہ والی چورنگی پر نامعلوم افراد نے فائرنگ کرکے ایک شہری کو موت کے گھاٹ اتار دیا۔ اورنگی ٹاؤن فرنٹیئر موڑ کے قریب فائرنگ سے خاتون ہلاک ہوگئیں۔
سرجانی ٹاؤن خداکی بستی میں ایک شخص فائرنگ سے ہلاک ہوا۔ نارتھ نارظم آباد شپ اونر کالج کے قریب نامعلوم افراد کی فائرنگ سے ایک نوجوان جاں بحق ہوگیا۔ گلشن اقبال مبینہ ٹاؤن میں ایک شخص کو گولیاں مار کر ہلاک کیا گیا۔ ادھر ڈیفینس فیز آٹھ میں خاتون کی لاش ملی ہے، جسے تشدد کرکے ہلاک کیاگیا۔
اس کے علاوہ لانڈھی ٹاؤن شرافی گوٹھ میں فائرنگ سے پولیس کانسٹبل جاں بحق ہوگیا۔ کورنگی عوامی کالونی سے ایک شخص کی ہاتھ پاؤں بندھی لاش ملی ہے،دھوبی گھاٹ کے علاقے سے 2 افراد کی ہاتھ پاؤں بندھی لاشیں ملی ہیں، جنہیں تشدد کے بعد فائرنگ کرکے قتل کیا گیا۔ بلدیہ نمبر 5 میں مسلح افراد نے گھر میں گھس کر فائرنگ کردی جس سے میاں بیوی ہلاک ہوگئے۔
صوبائی وزیرداخلہ منظور وسان جرائم پیشہ عناصر کی سرکوبی کے بجائے سیاسی جماعتوں کے دفاتر کے پھیر لگارہے ہیں، قانون نافذ کرنے والے اداروں کی شرپسندوں کے سامنے مکمل بے بسی کی تصور بنے نظر آتے ہیں۔
متاثرہ علاقوں کے عوام کا کہنا ہے کہ وزیرداخلہ سندھ قیام امن کے لیے صرف زبانی دعوے نہ کریں کیونکہ اب گفتگو نہیں بلکہ فیصلہ کا وقت آگیا۔
کراچی،29 دن میں286 افراد ہلاک
by Sagar Suhindero on July 30, 2011 // No Comment
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کراچی:دہشتگردی کیخلاف جنگ میں فرنٹ لائن اسٹیٹ کا کردار ادا کرنے والے ملک پاکستان کے آبادی کے لحاظ سے سب سے بڑے شہر کراچی میں رواں ماہ کے 29 دنوںمیں ٹارگیٹ کلنگ اور دہشتتگردی کے واقعات میں 286 افراد ہلاک ہوچکے ہیں۔
دی نیوز ٹرائب کو دستیاب معلومات کے مطابق پاکستان کے آبادی کے لحاظ سے دوسرے بڑے صوبے سندھ کے دارالحکومت کراچی میں گذشتہ کئی ماہ سے کشیدگی جاری ہے جبکہ دہشتگردی اور ٹارگیٹ کلنگ کے واقعات میں کمی کے بجائے اضافہ ہو رہا ہے۔
پاکستان کے سب سے بڑے شہر کراچی میں امن امان قائم کرنے کیلئے حکومت نے رینجرز اور پولیس کے بعد فرنٹیئر کانسٹیبلری کو بھی طلب کر لیا ہے جبکہ صوبہ سندھ میں نئے آئی جی پولیس واجد درانی نے اپنی تعیناتی کے بعد شہر کے ڈی ایس پیز اور ایس ایچ اوز کے تبادلے بھی کئے تاہم پولیس دہشتگردی اور ٹارگیٹ کلنگ روکنے میں ناکام ہوگئی۔
دستیاب معلومات کے مطابق پاکستان کی شہ رگ سمجھے جانے والے شہر کراچی میں یکم جولائی سے 29 جولائی تک 286 افراد کی زندگی کے چراغ گل کردئے گئے جبکہ دہشتگردی اور فائرنگ کے واقعات میں 400 سے زائد افراد زخمی ہوگئے، شہر میں فائرنگ اور کشیدگی کے واقعات کے باعث مشتعل افراد نے 60 سے زائد گاڑیوں کو بھی جلا ڈالا۔
رواں ماہ کے تین دن 5 جولائی سے 8 جولائی تک اورنگی ٹائون، بنارس، کٹی پہاڑی، قصبہ موڑ، مبینہ ٹائون، میٹرو سینما، سائٹ، میٹرو ول، ملیر، لاندھی، منگھو پیر، لیاری اور گلستان جوھر سمیت دیگر علاقوں میں دہشتگردوں نے فائرنگ کرکے 100 سے زائد افراد کو موت کی نیند سلادیا تھا ، ہلاک ہونے والے 100 افراد میں خواتین اور بچے بھی شامل تھے۔
شہر میں 5 سے 8 جولائی تک شہر پسندوں نے مختلف علاقوںمیں متعدد گاڑیوں، فیکٹریوں اور ہوٹلوں کو جلا دیا جبکہ تین دن کے بعد رینجرز اہلکاروں نے متاثرہ علاقوں کا کنٹرول سنبھالا۔
عالمی شہرت یافتہ شہر کراچی میں ایک بار پھر 23 جولائی سے29 جولائی تک دہشتگردی اور ٹارگیٹ کلنگ کے واقعات میں 84 افراد ہلاک ہوگئے جبکہ رواں ماہ کے دیگر ایام میں ٹارگیٹ کلنگ اور پر تشدد واقعات میں دیگر 100 افراد ہلاک ہوئے۔
پاکستان کے سب سے بڑے شہر کراچی میں دہشتگردی اور ٹارگیٹ کلنگ کے واقعات کے خلاف ملک کی مختلف سیاسی و سماجی جماعتوں سے شہر کو فوج کے حوالے کرنے کا مطالبہ کیا جا رہا ہے لیکن حکومت سندھ کا ماننا ہے کہ شہر کے حالات کنٹرول میں ہے۔
پاکستان کے وزیر داخلہ رحمان ملک نے کراچی کی ہلاکتوں سے متعلق کہا تھا کہ شہر میں 100 میں سے 70 افرا د اپنی بیویوں یا گرل فرینڈ کے ہاتھوں قتل ہوتے ہیں جبکہ وزیر اعلیٰ سندھ قائم علی شاہ اور صوبائی وزیر داخلہ منظور وسان کو اکثر یہ کہتےہوئے دیکھا گیا ہے کہ ہر قتل ٹارگیٹ کلنگ اور دہشتگردی کا واقعہ نہیں ہوتا۔
Reforming Karachi's police
By Bilal Baloch, August 1, 2011 Monday, August 1, 2011 - 4:18 PM Share
Karachi suffers from a terrible disease. This illness has been fierce at times, and calmer at others, but has remained in place for over 25 years. It has darkened the life of every human in the City of Lights. Certainly, it has spread so deeply throughout, and within, Karachi that sights of the city burning have become part of the inhabitants' immunity. "Business as usual" many muse. Indeed, 16 years ago, the deadly illness of chronic violence killed over 2000 people. In the first half of 2011 alone, 1,138 people have been killed by it; 490 of them targeted on political, sectarian, and ethnic grounds. And amidst this carnage, the ideal healers, the police, are found wanting.
Patron-client relationships permeate every level of life in Karachi. At the top, political parties keep a keen watch over criminal groups and gangs. These gangs perform duties for the parties including canvassing, illegally occupying land on the behalf of party workers or politicians themselves, providing personal security, and intimidating opponents or rivals. In turn, gangs gain in two ways. Firstly, they are allowed to continue with their illicit activities, including drug, alcohol, and gun running, as political parties overlook the legal transgressions of their minions. Secondly, and inextricably linked to the city's political corruption, they gain protection from the very police that should be hounding them.
Yet it is not the police themselves who are entirely to blame for the breakdown of law and order, but rather a system whereby politicians are able to use the police according to their whims. It is in some ways easy to vilify the police, to claim, as many do, that they can be bought, that they protect politicians instead of the people, or that they are more abusive than the actual criminals. As such, several writers have given their theories about what can, and should, be done to improve the conditions of a dire force. Voices within the system, for instance, often speak of improving the equipment and living conditions of the police as a means to fight corruption and build professionalism. Yet material changes alone will not fix the institutional problems and political culture that have continually held the police back as an instrument of law and order. A revolution in police affairs needs to take place with regards to the relationship between the police and the province's politicians.
***
The toxic political and security culture in Sindh province draws its institutional memory directly from the colonial period, the origin in many ways of the patron-client mentality that remains entrenched for Sindh's rulers and ruled alike. This has been recently reinforced with the decision to revive the Police Act of 1861 in Sindh, which replaced the updated, and far less damaging, police law of 2002. The latter law had much needed provisions, including the creation of complaint cells, better station facilities and equipment, and, most importantly, increased accountability of the police to a criminal justice coordination committee headed by a district and session judge. However, though it looked the part on paper, the laws were never fully, or well, implemented, resulting in a mutilated law.
The Police Act of 1861 came into being after the 1857 War of Independence (or Sepoy Mutiny as it is known abroad). The then-colonial Governor of Sindh, Sir Charles Napier, sought to emulate the Irish Constabulary model used for military-style policing in that other, closer British colony. This Constabulary was created initially with the sole purpose of suppressing armed rebellions, sectarian riots or agrarian disturbances. According to a report by Dr. Muhammed Shoaib Suddle -- the former deputy inspector general in Karachi and head of the Pakistan Intelligence Bureau -- the intent of the law was to keep "the natives on a tight leash" and to ensure that the police was not organized as a "politically neutral outfit for fair and just enforcement of law." The Colonial masters would keep the police chained to their authority by forcing the police to refer onto them, specifically the Chief Secretary, all major questions concerning the control, distribution and discipline of the force. In precisely the same way, the main stays of provincial politics in Sindh -- the landed and industrial elites of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) -- seek to ensure that the police continue to do their bidding under a restored, but equally undemocratic, system. The Act has in the past, for instance, provided legal cover for successive provincial governments to use the police for partisan purposes without sufficient checks and balances. And one only need drive past the home of the controversial Senior Minister for Works, Services and Forestry, Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza, to see a force of some 20 police officers guarding a premises where he infrequently resides, in addition to the personal guards kept to patrol the 10-foot high walls of the private mansion. Within this milieu, the police, handcuffed to the power of their patrons by law and practice, in addition to searching for greater revenue to balance out their poor salaries, come together to compound security concerns, and the police become the protector of the politicos rather than the public.
In light of these failings, some efforts by the public have been made seek alternative methods of protection. In the late 1980s, when elite families in the city came under threat from bandits, kidnappers and criminals, they blamed the paucity of the police. The brass was too busy looking after the politicians, and so the wealthy sought to take care of themselves. A group of businessmen, lawyers, and other professionals set up the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) in 1989 to handle the new wave of lawlessness. It was not a police force per se, but rather an investigative unit to facilitate negotiations and gather data on crime. With up to 80% of funding arriving from private donors who wanted protection for their families, a parallel community watch system was set up. CPLC's Savile Row-clad workers facilitated negotiations and visited wealthy families' homes, while the investigative officers robustly gathered intel on criminals and major incidents. The CPLC soon became the first phone call beyond the police itself, and was even included in the Police Order 2002, to work alongside the main police force. But the set-up has obvious limitations. After all, the organization could not, and to a large extent cannot, deal with the deep levels of crime in the city, and do not have the personnel to function outside of a certain slice of the city's society. The CPLC must be led by a strong police in order to operate effectively. Elsewhere, and most recently, a former high level official of the CPLC tells me that the organization has met what he calls an unfortunate, but "inevitable," end: it has become politicized in its own right.
It would be foolish to conclude that strengthening the facilities, salaries, and training of the police is completely futile. Indeed, the relative success of the motorway police -- which often shows little mercy in fining the most powerful politician or bureaucrat -- is a case in point. They have a higher recruitment of college graduates, are better-equipped and -trained across the board (they even receive instruction in proper etiquette in how to speak with those they apprehend), and have higher salaries, thus decreasing the likelihood of turning their heads away from transgressions in return for a quick buck. But the urban setting of a city such as Karachi, with its deeply-ingrained culture of violence, needs a police far beyond the capabilities of the motorway force, which does not encounter the daily challenge of facing gun toting criminals and threatening political workers at every corner.
But some lessons can still be derived from the experience of the CPLC and the motorway police. Aside from implementing the aforementioned changes experienced by the latter, the police's organizational structure needs to be more akin to that first laid out in the 2002 reforms, together with institutionally demarcating -- and lawfully accounting for -- when politicians can tap into state security forces for personal security, increasing the professionalism of the police, and making the police the number one priority of state, and international, funds. By making the police establishment a public policy priority and a more professional force, the mindsets of police officers will, in turn, change drastically. Right now, the police play second, third, and fourth fiddle to the Frontier Constabulary, paramilitary Rangers, and Army respectively, in Karachi, and behave accordingly. Institutional changes and legal barriers between Karachi's political elite and a newly-professionalized force can go some way towards building an effective police force that can deal with Karachi's chronic violence. But for the change to be truly complete, the city's elite themselves will have to change the paradigm through which they view security and the proper role of law enforcement, and bring about a true shift in "business as usual" in Karachi.
Bilal Baloch is a graduate student at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is currently conducting field research in Karachi. You can follow him on twitter @babaloch
==
Mayhem in Karachi, bloodbath continues
Published: August 2, 2011
Over 30 killed in last 24 hours of violence; Altaf gives government 48 hour ultimatum. PHOTO: MOHAMMAD NOMAN/EXPRESS
Over 30 killed in last 24 hours of violence; Altaf gives government 48 hour ultimatum. PHOTO: MOHAMMAD NOMAN/EXPRESS Over 30 killed in last 24 hours of violence; Altaf gives government 48 hour ultimatum. PHOTO: NNI
ISLAMABAD:
Thirty four people have lost their lives in the ongoing wave of target killings in Karachi in last 24 hours, including five in overnight shooting incidents. MQM chief Altaf Hussain has given a 48 hour notice to President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to stop bloodshed in Karachi.
Unidentified armed men attacked a factory in the Industrial Zone of Ahsanabad with more than 1500 factory workers trapped inside. Armed with sophisticated weapons, the men also torched more than 100 motorbikes in the parking zone of the factory, while firing constantly.
Police and Rangers reached the site almost an hour after the attack began and took another hour to regain control of the area.
Meanwhile, in separate incidents, four people were shot dead in Muhammadi Goth, New Karachi, Safora Goth and SITE area.
20 others have been killed in incidents of violence in Orangi Town, Surjani Town, Pak Colony, Landhi, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Korangi and other areas.
Miscreants also damaged public property in Surjani, Pak Colony, Orangi and other areas. According to police, more then seven vehicles including a passenger bus were burnt.
Exhausted with continuous violence, residents of Pak colony took to the streets to protest against target killings. Protesters torched tyres and chanted slogans against the violence.
MQM warns against ‘bid to take over Karachi’
As 28 people were killed in fresh violence in Karachi on Monday, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) accused some elements backed by the Sindh government of trying to take over its stronghold.
“We won’t let anybody take over Karachi,” MQM lawmaker Wasim Ahmed warned in the National Assembly on Monday, indicating that resurging political violence in the country’s financial hub was far from over.
Wasim said what was happening in Karachi should not be termed a turf war. Rather, it reflected attempts by a particular group who wanted to take the city hostage.
He, however, did not specify who within the Sindh government was backing these elements, although his party had in the past been accusing senior minister Zulfikar Mirza of ‘hatching conspiracies’ against them.
He spoke after MQM lawmakers staged a walkout from the lower house of parliament to protest over the government’s ‘indifference’ on violence in Karachi, followed by lawmakers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamiat Ulama-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F).
“Nobody seems to be serious in bringing peace back to Karachi. Everyone wants to control the city with guns…but I tell you that this is not going to happen,” Wasim said, after Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani left the house, ignoring Ahmed’s remarks.
In Karachi, Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Hussain Wassan said that he knew what was happening in the provincial metropolis and would soon call a meeting to discuss the situation.
He was talking to media at MQM headquarters popularly known as ‘Nine-Zero’ where he came as part of his initiative to take all stakeholders into confidence.
“I will take a clear position as the home minister of Sindh,” he said. Expressing his resolve to restore peace in Karachi, Wassan said that action would be taken against “all mafias, land-grabbers and drug dealers”.
He said that after a long time he had contacted the MQM chief, who had assured him (Wassan) of his and party’s cooperation for peace in Karachi.
“I cannot forget his (Altaf Hussain’s) words…he said he is a son of Sindh and was willing to lay down his life for Sindh, would fight for the province’s rights.”
He said that rallies were “not enough to restore peace in the city…terrorists must realise that the government will take strict action if they did not desist”, the Sindh home minister said. He also assured MQM leaders that their reservations would be addressed.
Dr Sagheer Ahmed later told the media that the MQM was ready to support any drive for peace in the city.
He said that the Sindh home minister had been thoroughly briefed about “nexus between various terrorist groups, mafias and their modus operandi”.
“We appreciate the efforts made by the Sindh home minister and await implementation on his directives.”
Correction: An earlier version of the story was running an old caption. The change has been made.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 2nd, 2011.
==
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
25 more killed in Karachi violence
* Over 80 motorcycles, 10 vehicles, five hotels and several pushcarts set ablaze
By Atif Raza
KARACHI: As many as 25 people, including activists of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), were killed and several others were injured in various parts of the city on Monday.
Besides, armed miscreants torched 10 vehicles and half of dozen hotels in parts of the city while 80 motorcycles were torched in Sohrab Goth Industrial Area.
At least three people, Habibur Rehman, 45, Imran Hussain, 26 and Naeem Niaz, 30 were shot dead in parts of Sarjani Town, including Yousuf Goth, Taiser Town and Khuda Ki Basti and seven people, including two policemen, were injured during an armed clash between two groups. However, during the clash, armed men also torched four vehicles including two mini buses and half a dozen hotels. The law enforcement agencies remained unable to enter the violence-hit areas while residents remained confined to their houses.
Also the most violence-hit area was Orangi Town where two people, including an MQM worker Kamran Hanif, were kidnapped and killed in separate incidents. While discovering their bodies, tension engulfed parts of Orangi Town where over a dozen people were wounded during intense firing between armed groups.
Miscreants also torched two passenger coaches and a rickshaw and also attacked a police mobile with hand grenades but fortunately no loss of life was reported.
Miscreants having sticks and batons also injured several people standing at different bus stops in Orangi Town. A retired major, Nasir, was also taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital after he was injured in a firing incident on Manghopir.
The areas of the Pak Colony and Old Golimar were also badly disturbed after the recovery of two bodies, including an MQM worker, Ashfaq Ahmed. Two vehicles were also torched in the area.
At Sohrab Goth Industrial Area,around a dozen armed men ambushed the parking area of a textile factory and torched over 80 motorcycles. After getting the information, heavy contingents of police and rangers rushed to spot.
DSP Iftikhar Lodhi said it was the parking area of a textile factory and all the vehicles were owned by the factory employees. Scores of factory workers staged a protest demonstration outside the factory.
Meanwhile, at least 16 more people, including a PPP worker and a policeman, were killed in separate incidents across the city. A PPP worker Munawar Hussain was killed in Mobina Town where one vehicle was also torched over the incident.
An elderly man, Zar Lal, 60, and his young son Niaz Khan were shot dead in Sharah-e-Noor Jahan in North Nazimabad. Police said both the victims were sitting outside their house where unidentified men targeted them.
In Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Hayatullah was killed and Shahid was wounded in an armed attack at their restaurant in Sharah-e-Faisal police limits. A policeman posted to special branch of the Bomb Disposal Squad, Tariq Dad, was killed in Landhi’s Sharafi Goth area, police said. The victim was going to his duty when armed men on a motorcycle killed him, the police said.
An estate agent, Shah Kareem, was killed while Rab Nawaz and his son Shahnawaz were wounded in an attack at a loading truck in New Karachi. One Abdul Hakeem and Asif Muhammad and an unidentified man were killed in SITE and Aziz Bhatti areas, respectively.
SHO Aziz Bhatti said that identity of a victim was yet to be ascertained and police shifted the body to Jinnah Post-Graduate Medical Centre, while SITE SHO A Mumtaz Magsi said that victim Abdul Hakeem was going in a pickup when unidentified men opened firing on him, resultantly, four other people, including a woman received bullet injuries. Police shifted them to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Two young men were shot dead in Sheesha Market within the precincts of Eid Gah police station. The victim, Abdul Qadir, 30, was sitting with his friend Bilal when unidentified armed men reached there on a motorcycle and opened firing on them, resultantly Qadir died on the spot. Later Bilal also succumbed to his injuries in a hospital.
Separately, two bodies stuffed in gunny bags were found from a park situated in Nazimabad but identities of the victims could not be ascertained.
Farhan son of Khadim Hussain was shot dead in Safora Chowrangi in the precincts of Sacchal police station while a man named Rahim Dad was shot dead within the limits of Maripur police station. Police said the victim was released from jail one week ago. A 45-year old man, Afsar, was shot dead in Korangi in the limits of Awami Colony police station. A firing victim, Saiful Islam, succumbed to his injuries at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
==
Ninety vehicles torched in Karachi
By Our Staff Reporter | From the Newspaper
(7 hours ago) Today
A view of burning vehicles which were set ablaze by unknown miscreants in Karachi.-PPI
KARACHI: Ninety vehicles — trucks, passenger coaches and 80 motorbikes — were torched in different strife-hit localities of the city on Monday, police said.
They said that dozens of arsonists stormed a factory in the Sohrab Goth area on Monday evening and torched at least 80 motorcycles parked outside the industrial unit. The area DSP confirmed the incident.
However, fire tenders could not reach the scene due to security concerns despite the fact that the Sohrab fire station is located right across the road.
Earlier in the day, two minibuses and two trucks were torched in Surjani Town’s Sector 7-A.
Similarly, in Surjani Town’s Sectors 4-A, 4-B and 7-A miscreants also set five roadside tea stalls and food outlets and half a dozen pushcarts on fire.They also struck in Orangi Town and set a route 7-Star passenger coach and one rickshaw on fire.
Another passenger coach was also set on fire within the remit of the Mominabad police station, the police added.
A truck belonging to the Karachi Electric Supply Company and another belonging to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation were also torched in the Soldier Bazaar area. A private car was also set on fire within the remit of the Mobina Town police station.
===
Twenty-three lives lost as Karachi bleeds again
By S. Raza Hassan | From the Newspaper
(11 hours ago) Today
Firefighters extinguish burning vehicles in the trouble area of Karachi on August 1, 2011. – Photo by AFP
KARACHI: Nearly two dozen people were on Monday shot dead, several others wounded and around 90 vehicles and some tea shops set ablaze in gun and arson attacks in different parts of the city, causing the Sindh home minister to approach the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Awami National Party to seek their support for what is being described as an indiscriminate action against culprits.
The strife-hit areas of the city witnessed 23 killings on the first day of the month, surpassing the daily average death toll of July during which a total of 318 people, including a few lawyers, had been killed.
In protest against the killings, representatives of the city and provincial associations of lawyers boycotted court proceedings and marched towards the Chief Minister’s House, demanding a judicial probe into the recent wave of violence.
The Surjani Town remained the worst-affected area with arson attacks on two minibuses, two trucks, several tea shops, eateries and pushcarts besides three killings.
Only a day ago, five people had been killed in the town.
In a major arson attack, at least 80 motorbikes were set on fire on the premises of a factory situated in the Sohrab Goth area.
No fire engine could rush to the spot because of security reasons.
When the SSP for district west was asked about the identity of the groups involved in the violence, he said that apparently the MQM and ANP were fighting it out. He said police had arrested some suspects involved in gun and arson attacks and also seized weapons found in their possessions.
However, the violence forced residents to stay indoors, traders to pull down shutters and transporters not to ply vehicles in the strife-hit areas.
Amid the renewed wave of violence, Home Minister Manzoor Wasan, in an attempt to muster their support and ease out the city’s volatile situation, visited the MQM headquarters, better known as Nine Zero, and met the members of the coordination committee of the party. They discussed the situation for over an hour and the minister assured the MQM leadership that their reservations would be addressed and requested the party to extend cooperation in bringing a durable peace to Karachi.
After meeting the MQM leaders, the minister reached the Mardan House, the ANP office, and met ANP leader Shahi Syed. They discussed the worsening law and order situation. The minister said the government wanted to take the parties on board before initiating an action.
==
KARACHI: Seven people were killed in Karachi on Tuesday as Interior Minister Rehman Malik declared that terrorists had tested the government enough and action would now be taken against them, DawnNews reported.
Speaking to the media representatives in Karachi, Malik said it was time that the mafias operating in Karachi let go off their gang leaders as nobody could come to their rescue anymore.
The minister also said that 18 to 26 people had become victims of target killings since yesterday. And although he stated that the nation would soon witness action in Karachi, the city saw seven more deaths.
Also present at the occasion was Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan who said that now action against criminal elements would be taken first and the media will be informed afterwards.
===
کراچی جیناچاہتاہے
by Sumayya Akhter on 16 mins ago // No Comment
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“آئی ایس آئی،ملٹری انٹیلی جنس،رینجرزجیسے قابل فخر اداروں نےمشترکہ تحقیق کے بعدجن افرادکوانڈیاسے دہشت گردی کی تربیت کر کے آنےوالاثابت کیا۔ملزموں نے خود متعددانسانوں کو قتل کرنےکااعتراف کیا لیکن عدالتوں نے انہیں رہاکردیا”۔کراچی میں جاری ٹارگٹ کلنگ کاحل یہ ہےکہ عدلیہ اپنی ذمہ داری محسوس کرے۔
“ایک سیاسی جماعت کے سربراہ کے کیس کافیصلہ ہوناہے لیکن عدلیہ کے 2ججزاس کے کیس کی سماعت کرنےسے ہی انکارکرچکے ہیں۔نتیجہ یہ کہ مذکورہ سیاسی شخصیت اب بھی جیل میں ہے۔عدلیہ کواپناکرداراداکرناہوگا”۔
یہ خیالات صوبائی وزیراطلاعات شرجیل انعام میمن کےہیں جو انہوں نے کراچی کی بدامنی کاحل بتاتے ہوئےظاہرکئے۔
“کراچی میں ٹارگٹ کلنگ کےدوران استعمال ہونےوالا اسلحہ جن مقامات سے آتا ہے ان میں بندرگاہ ہویادیگرمقامات وہاں حکومتی گرفت موثربنائی جائے۔لوگ مر رہے ہیں اگرکوئی مارنےوالوں کو نہیں پکڑتاتواس کی ذمہ دادی مکمل طورپرحکومت پرعائد ہوتی ہے۔”
حکومتی اتحادی جماعت متحدہ قومی موومنٹ کے رکن اسمبلی رشید گوڈیل اپنےتئیں اسے کراچی میں جاری قتل وغارت کاحل سمجھتے ہیں۔
“ہم عدم تشددکےپیروکارہیں اورچاہتے یہں کہ ہرایک کواس کاحق دیاجائے ایساکرکےہی شہرمیں امن قائم ہوسکتاہے”ایک اورحکومتی اتحادی جماعت عوامی نیشنل پارٹی کے رہنماگل آفریدی اس تجویزکومسئلہ کاحل مانتے ہیں۔
2کروڑکےقریب انسانوں کامسکن،ملکی آمدن کے63فیصدکاشئیرہولڈر،غریب کی ماں،انفارمیشن ٹیکنالوجی سمیت جدید شعبوں میں ملکی ترقی کادروازہ،تعلیمی اداروں کاشہر،دنیاکے گنجان آبادشہروں میں سے ایک اورپاکستان کاسب سے بڑاشہرکراچی مسلسل جل رہاہے۔
دی نیوزٹرائب ہی کی رپورٹ کے مطابق رواں برس کے 7مہینوں میں اب تک بدامنی کے دوران 11سولوگ قتل ہوچکے ہیں۔
سیاسی وحکومتی رہنماحل پیش کرنےکی دوڑمیں مصروف ہیں لیکن آنےوالے منظرنامےکےبارے میں خوفناک ترین پہلو یہ ہے کہ “شہرکےہردسویں گھرسے لاش اٹھانے کی تیاری مکمل کر لی گئی ہے”۔محکمہ پولیس سندھ کے ایک ذمہ دارفردکی رائے کے مطابق رمضان سمیت آنےوالے دنوں میں قتل وغارت گری جاری رہے گی۔
آفا ق احمد کی رہائی روکنی ہو،شہرپرسیاسی قبضہ برقرارکھناہو،کاروباری علاقوں سےبھتے کی رقم کابڑاحصہ لیناہو،اپنی مرضی کے انتخابی نتائج حاصل کرنےہوں،اسلحہ کے فروخت کنندگان کےلئےمارکیٹ کومزید وسیع کرناہو،عالمی نقشے میں رنگ بھرنےکی کوششیں ہوں،ملک کی اکلوتی بندرگاہ کوغیرمستحکم رکھ کرملکی ترقی روکناہو،عالمی دوستوں اوردشمنوں میں تیزی سے تبدیلی لانی ہو،آقائوں کوخوش رکھناہو۔یہ تمام باتیں اپنی جگہ لیکن حقیقت یہ ہےکہ کراچی جیناچاہتاہے کوئی ہےجوزندگی بخشنےکوتیارہو۔
===
arachi violence: MQM warns against ‘ethnic cleansing’
By Zia Khan
Published: August 3, 2011
A senior MQM leader warned against ‘naivety’ to deal with what he called the bashing of a particular ethnic community in Karachi. PHOTO: APP/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) warned against the city’s targeted killing spree growing even bigger to become a ‘massacre or ethnic cleansing’ in Tuesday’s National Assembly session.
An impassioned call was made by the MQM seeking immediate government action to what some of its members described as violence engineered by elements within the provincial administration of Sindh. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) responded by advising the party to accept the existence of the rival Haqqiqi group.
“We can never get to the bottom of the problem in Karachi as long as we continue to deny their [Haqqiqi] existence,” said MNA Abdul Qadir Patel.
Patel advised the MQM to open negotiations with the Haqqiqi group, whose leadership had hitherto been under detention but was recently released by courts and greeted by a senior Sindh minister at a political gathering.
The PPP MP from Karachi also called for giving Sunni Tehreek (ST), another group in friction with the MQM in the past, a chance.
(Read: The killing fields of Karachi)
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s Khawaja Saad Rafiq urged the government to send a parliamentary fact-finding mission to Karachi and implement its report.
A senior MQM leader warned against ‘naivety’ to deal with what he called the bashing of a particular ethnic community in Karachi.
“This attitude will harm us and you as well,” said MNA Haider Abbas Rizvi, referring to the government’s handling of violence in the city.
Earlier, the MQM staged a walkout from the house and its emotional members started running out of control, shouting anti-government slogans when Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza tried to discontinue a debate on the unrest in Karachi.
But the walkout and a strong protest forced the government to change plans of bringing to the house issues other than the overnight debate.
Rizvi said that in parts of the city people were being attacked due to their ethnic affiliations and were even being forced to vacate their home in some areas. “It’s like internal displacement,” he said.
(Read: In Karachi, hold on to the gains)
He further warned the government against pushing MQM to the wall and added that a sense of isolation was growing within the party that can be translated into a sense of deprivation or alienation of the group.
Rizvi warned that instability in Karachi would have a direct effect on peace and harmony in the entire country.
“Karachi is the centre of gravity … if you want to save Pakistan, save this city,” he added.
A cleric and member of the assembly from Balochistan said whatever was happening to Pakistan today was the wrath of God.
People don’t obey rulers because they don’t obey God, said Maulvi Asmatullah.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 3rd, 2011.
==
Security stepped up in Karachi as death toll hits 58
By AFP
Published: August 3, 2011
The government has deployed hundreds of extra paramilitary troops in Karachi. PHOTO: RASHID AJMERI/FILE
KARACHI: The government has deployed hundreds of extra paramilitary troops in Karachi, struggling to end violence that has killed 58 people in five days, officials said Wednesday.
Authorities are battling to put a halt to gunfights raging across the city, where political, ethnic and criminal rivalries left more than 200 people dead last month.
The provincial government is offering Rs10 million for citizens who provide information leading to the arrests of those responsible for the violence, at its worst since 1995.
“Hundreds of paramilitary soldiers and policemen deployed in the city’s troubled western neighbourhoods last night,” local government official Sharfuddin Memon told AFP.
“House-to-house searches are going on and some suspects have been detained.”
(Read: How the police is failing the people of Karachi)
The death toll on Wednesday reached 58, after at least 35 people were killed in the space of 24 hours and provincial health official Hamid Parhiar said at least four bullet-riddled bodies were brought to the hospital.
Inspector General (IG) of Police Sindh Wajid Durrani said police had made 24 arrests and some officials said calm had been restored.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain warned people overnight to stockpile food for a month as the law and order situation worsens.
“We are running out of patience. For how long will we collect the bodies of innocent people?” said Hussain in a written statement to party workers before a party meeting, due to be conducted by telephone on Wednesday.
Government officials and coalition party members have distributed stickers, pamphlets and placards pleading for peace, but to little effect.
The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan recently described Karachi as a city in the grip of political, ethnic and sectarian “polarisation”.
It said 490 people were killed in targeted killings in Karachi in the first half of the year, compared with 748 in the whole of 2010.
(Read: Violence continues in Karachi; 200 killed in July)
Pakistani security forces search troubled Karachi areas
03 Aug 2011 11:03
Source: reuters // Reuters
By Faisal Aziz
KARACHI, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Pakistani police and paramilitary troops fanned out through Karachi neighbourhoods on Wednesday to help quell two days of violence in the country's commercial capital that killed at least 35 people.
Security officials said several people were detained in raids in districts affected by the fighting linked to the ethnic and religious tensions that have long plagued Karachi, home to the country's main port, stock exchange and central bank.
An official from the paramilitary Rangers said troops had set up checkpoints and increased spot checks in tense areas.
"We have deployed troops in most of the troubled areas, and will take strong action if we see any trouble," he said. "We also conducted an operation last night, where we cordoned off some of the troubled areas and detained some suspects."
Most districts were calm on Wednesday, though there were reports of three bodies found in different areas.
Officials say more than 300 people were killed in Karachi in July alone -- one of the deadliest months in almost 20 years.
Some officials say about 200 killings may have been targeted -- linked to victims' ethnic or religious affiliations.
FURTHER ACTION PLEDGED
Officials pledged further action to curb violence.
"We will carry out specific and targeted operations in the troubled areas, based on intelligence reports," said Sharfuddin Memon, an adviser at the provincial home minister. "We are hopeful these actions will help restore peace in the city."
Memon put the death toll this week at least 35.
Trouble has persisted despite the deployment of hundreds of new troops to tackle last month upsurge in violence in western Orangi town district. About 100 people died in three days.
Rangers took control of the area, but violence has since spread to other parts of the city of more than 18 million, prompting severe criticism of authorities.
Altaf Hussain, the leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which dominates Karachi, accused the government from his base in London of failing to take action to restore peace.
"There has been no action yet against those involved in violence," Hussain, who has lived in self-imposed exile since 1992, said in a statement.
"Given the attitude of the government and the law enforcement agencies, I request the public to buy rations for at least a month, even if they have to sell something valuable for that."
Ethnic, religious and sectarian disputes and political rows can often explode into battles engulfing entire city districts.
Al Qaeda-linked militants targeted Karachi for bombings, kidnappings and assassinations after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, when Pakistan joined the U.S.-led campaign against militancy. Foreigners were repeatedly attacked.
Street thugs and ethnic gangs have been used by political parties as foot soldiers in a turf war in a city which contributes about two-third of Pakistan's tax revenue.
Though many investors are used to violence in Karachi and other regions, extended lawlessness can only add to concerns.
Sentiment at the stock market was hurt by the trouble, and the main index ended 2.33 percent lower on Wednesday.
"The worsening law and order situation is one of the reasons for the low volumes in the market in recent days," said Khalid Iqbal Siddiqui, a director at brokers Invest and Finance Securities Ltd.
"Everyone seems to be worried about the situation in Karachi and no one is ready to take fresh positions in this situation." (Additonal reporting by Sahar Ahmed and Imtiaz Shah; Editing by Ron Popeski)
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Three people killed in Karachi
M A Hafeez ----> Aug 6th, 2011 // No Comment
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Karachi: At least three people have been killed and two others injured in different parts of Karachi on Saturday.
According to details a trussed up body of a man was found near City Station and was shifted to Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Complex (JPMC). The body was identified as Muntazir Ali son of Akhtar Mehdi. The deceased was an officer of Bank al Habib. Police registered an FIR against unknown culprits and started investigation.
Meanwhile Police found a body of a young man packed in a gunny bad in Nazimabad near Zia uddin Hospital. The body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for autopsy.However, identity of the deceased boy was yet to be ascertained.
Meanwhile, another body was recovered in Miran Naka area of Lyari.
Two people were injured in firing incidents in different parts of the metropolis.
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Karachi target killers using Command and Control Center: report
Ahmed Farooq ----> Aug 8th, 2011 // No Comment
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Karachi: The officials of the Command and Control Centre in Karachi established by former Karachi nazim Mustafa Kamal is abetting target killers in their activities, a Pakistani newspaper Pakistan Today reported.
According to the newspaper country’s premier spy agency Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has recorded conversations of the centre’s officials with target killers and terrorists. They said that officials of the Cam Wing were discovered directing criminals regarding targets for killing and causing disruption as well as vandalism, looting and arson
The newspaper while quoting sources said that with their eyes on various parts of the city through the cameras installed all across the metropolitan, the officials of the centre’s Cam Wing provide anti-social elements with information about movement of the police and personnel of other law enforcement agencies as well as instructions for terror activities
The Pakistan Today reports, The ISI has recorded conversations of Cam Wing officials on separate occasions of violence and found that they directed criminals to leave a particular location or reach a specific site. Quoting unnamed sources in the ISI has forwarded a letter to the federal government to immediately investigate the Cam Wing officials, and has recommended that the centre be handed over to the law enforcers immediately because due to these corrupt officials, the law enforcers have been unable to take action against target killers and terrorists among other criminals.
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The Express Tribune
Alerts
COURT ISSUES NOTICES TO FEDERATION, PETROLEUM MINISTRY AND PEPCO 10:23 PST
< >
Karachi’s dirty secret: Nobody admits to what happens to these bodies
By Faraz Khan
Published: August 10, 2011
Tortured, disfigured unidentifiable men stuffed in gunny sacks are victims of the city’s turf wars.
KARACHI: There are at least 10 bodies lying in the cold storage room of the Edhi morgue. They are just a sample of the dozens that are routinely stuffed into sacks and dumped throughout the city. However, even if their relatives came forward and tried to identify their loved ones, they wouldn’t be able to. They’ve been disfigured beyond recognition.
Almost all of them bear torture marks inflicted by knives, saws, daggers and in some cases even holes have been drilled. But the question that no one really wants to answer is where exactly these victims of political and ethnic violence are tortured in the city. And how come the police have failed to dismantle these numerous ‘torture cells’? Already, since July, more than 35 people have been tortured to death and dumped in gunny bags across the city.
Senior police officials believe that militant wings of politico-ethnic parties as well as criminal groups are behind the viciousness. They say men are being abducted and taken to torture cells that are set up on a short-term basis. They believe dumping bodies in gunny bags is a numbers game between rival groups designed to create panic.
Additional IG Saud Mirza told The Express Tribune that most bodies are dumped after 24 hours have passed and some bodies are found after two to five days.
Karachi is not new to this specific technique. This vicious cycle of violence began in the 1990s. However, what makes the current round of violence more dangerous is that unlike in the 1990s when only one or two groups were blamed for dumping bodies of their rivals on the streets, now every major political and criminal group is believed to be taking part in this power play, says senior police officer SP Khurram Waris.
Most of these bodies have been found in Lyari and its adjoining areas including Pak Colony, Kharadar, Old Golimar and Garden while others are found in Malir, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Nazimabad, Rizvia, Landhi, Khokhrapar, Shah Faisal Colony and Orangi.
Officials believe that some torturers also negotiate the release of the victims in their custody and try to trade them with one of their own in custody of another group’s torture cell. “This is less of a negotiation game than a numbers game,” said the officials. “One torture cell will do a maximum of three cases because it becomes necessary to change location.”
The gunny bags are usually the same ones that are used to pack flour. The easily available sacks cost just Rs80 have are about four feet long and two feet wide. The sack is usually placed over the victim’s head and pulled down to his feet. The victim’s hands and feet are already tied with either masking tape or a rope. The mouth too is usually gagged. If the victim is taller than four feet, then his legs are folded and a knot is tied at the end. “Bori bandh body – as soon as people hear these words, their blood runs cold,” remarked SSP Chaudhry Aslam Khan. “In the world of crime there is a great fear of this.” He added that sometimes the culprits shoot the victims before packing them into the sack – and sometimes after.
Edhi
Over a week has been passed but none of the 10 bodies have been identified and the Edhi management decided to bury them at the Edhi graveyard. Photographs are taken and bodies are numbered just in case the families come after the five-day wait. “For some families it is really difficult to identify the bodies because they’re in such bad shape,” said Edhi official Anwar Kazmi.
Political parties
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Haider Abbas Rizvi said that some of their workers have met this fate – some of them were even found with their heads cut off. “There are mafias and gangs in Karachi and they definitely have the resources to keep someone in a place and torture them.”
Torture cells are set up in safe places where usually no police or rival men are allowed, believes Pakistan Peoples Party Karachi president Najmi Alam. “I couldn’t keep someone in my house for up to five days at a stretch and torture them [without someone finding out],” he remarked when pressed on the issue. A certain logic of simple deduction also applies: “And then, no one takes a victim off to kill them in the jungle and then drag their body back to the city to dump. They take people to areas which they dominate – where people are your own – and torture them there.”
The Awami National Party’s Sindh spokesman, Qadir Khan, was more vocal: One hundred per cent there are torture cells in the city, he said. This much is for sure.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 10th, 2011.
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Key Mohajir leader joins Altaf’s MQM
Updated on: Monday, August 15, 2011 9:25:39 PM
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Staff Report
KARACHI: Mohajir Qaumi Movement Secretary General Nadeem-ul -Islam today announced his decision to join Altaf Hussain-led Muttahida Qaumi Movement along with his 200 supporters.
He also announced dismantling of Mohajir Qaumi Movement.
Addressing a news conference here, he said: “I apologize to Altaf Hussain for my acts of past.”
“I am hopeful that Altaf Hussain will accept my apology.”
He said that only Altaf could help Mohajirs and other communities in getting their due rights.
“I was misled for several years in the name of Mohajirs. I have realized my mistakes now. I, therefore, join the MQM,” he explained. SAMAA
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کراچی پولیس تماشائی،مزید11افرادقتل۔لائیوبلاگ
by Fayyaz Siddiqui on 4 hours ago // No Comment
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کراچی : پاکستان کے ساحلی و اقتصادی شہر کراچی میں جمعرات کو بھی ٹارگٹ کلرزکاراج برقرارہے۔اس دوران مزید11افرادموت کا شکار ہوئے ہیں۔
دی نیوز ٹرائب کے نمائندے کے مطابق کراچی کے علاقے گارڈن سے 3افراد کی بوری بند لاشیں برآمد ہوئی ہی، پولیس کا کہنا ہے کہ مقتولین کو تشدد کے بعد گولیاں مار کر ہلاک کیا گیا۔
ادھر بلدیہ ٹاؤن میں اغواء کے بعد 3 افراد کو تشدد کرکے قتل کردیا گیا مقتولین میں میراں ناکہ فائربریگیڈ کا افسر ظفر فاروقی بھی شامل ہے جسے مبینہ طورپربدھ کوایک اوراہلکارسمیت اغواء کر لیاگیاتھا۔
2کروڑ کی آبادی والے شہر کراچی میں گاڑیوں کےپرزہ جات کی خریدوفروخت کےلئےمشہورعلاقے شیرشاہ میں ایک گاڑی سے 4افرادکی لاشیں دستیاب ہوئی ہیں۔
بدھ اورجمعرات کی درمیانی شب 12بجے کے بعد سے جمعرات کی صبح تک شہرکاگنجان آباد علاقہ لیاری ہلکے وبھاری ہتھیاروں کی شدید فائرنگ سے گونج رہا ہے۔
بانی پاکستان کاشہرکہلانےوالے کراچی کے مضافاتی علاقے بلدیہ ٹائون میں نامعلوم ملزمان نے بلدیہ ٹاؤن تھانے پر گولیاں برسادیں اس دوران عمارت میں موجوددوسروں کی حفاظت کے ذمہ دار اہلکاروں نے زمین پر لیٹ کر اپنی جانیں بچائیں۔ فائرنگ کے واقعہ کے بعد پولیس کی اضافی نفری کو متاثرہ تھانے پہنچنے کا حکم دیا گیا ہے۔
علاوہ ازیں سعید آباد میں نامعلوم ٹارگٹ کلرز نے فائرنگ کر کے ایک شخص کو موت کے گھاٹ اتار دیا، پولیس نے ضروری کارروائی کے لیے لاش کو اسپتال منتقل کردیا۔
دوسری جانب نادرن بائی پاس منگھوپیر میں نامعلوم سمت سے آنے والی گولی کی زد میں آکر ایک فرد زندگی سے ہاتھ دھوبیٹھا۔جس کی شناخت رات دیر گئے تک نہیں ہو سکی تھی۔
قبل ازیں رنچھوڑ لائن میں ایک سیاسی جماعت کے دفتر پر دستی بموں سے حملے کیے گئے تاہم کسی جانی نقصان کی اطلاع موصول نہیں ہوئی۔
قانون نافذ کرنے والے اداروں نے رات گئے شہر کے مختلف علاقوں میں سرچ آپریشن کے دوران بھیم پورہ سے3مشتبہ افراد کو حراست میں لیا ہے تاہم کوئی قابل ذکر گرفتاری سامنے نہیں آئی اور قاتل بدستور لوگوں کو موت باٹنے کے مشن پر جتے ہوئے ہیں۔
یاد رہے کہ گزشتہ روز سےاب تک ٹارگٹ کلنگ اور پرتشدد واقعات میں ہلاک ہونے والوں کی 24تعداد ہوگئی ہے، پولیس چیف سعود مرزا نے محکمہ کی کارکرگی پر عدم اطمنان کا اظہار کرتے ہوئے ماتحت افسران کی سرزنش کی ہے۔
==
Karachi continues to bleed, 11 more shot dead
Saeed Abbasi ----> Aug 18th, 2011 // No Comment
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Karachi: Eleven more people were gunned down in separate shooting incidents within few hours as target killing incidents are seemed reeling in the metropolis, reaching the death toll to 24 from Wednesday morning.
Following the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi’s old city area of Liyari, Police arrested three suspects during the late Wednesday night search operation.
Heavy contingent of police including special commandos participated in the operation that was launched in various parts of Liyari including Salar Commound and Bhempura.
According to police, Four bullet-riddled bodies were recovered from Lea Market area. Identities of the deceased were yet to be ascertained.
Three gun-shot bodies were found from 19-D, Baldia Town. Out of them, two bodies were identified as the employees of Fire Brigade who were abducted on late Wednesday evening. While, a man was gunned down near Saeedabad Post Office.
Two more bodies were recovered from Garden area of Karachi while another man was shot dead in Manghopir.
However, unidentified miscreants riding a bike hurled a hand grenade at an office of a political party in Ranchore Line and fled. But there were no reports of any causality or injury in the attack.
Meanwhile, a rocket was also fired in Mir Alam Market of Baldia No 3 from any unknown destination, but the result was same as was in Ranchore Line attack.
Aerial firing incident were also reported in different areas of Baldia Town, producing panic and fear among masses and forcing them to stay indoors.
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Thursday, August 18, 2011 E-Mail this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version
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PPP ex-MNA among 15 killed, half a dozen vehicles torched
Karachi burns and bleeds
* Five bullet-riddled bodies found in Lyari
* Various areas of city remain tense
By Atif Raza
KARACHI: Violence claimed 15 more lives on Wednesday, including that of a former member of National Assembly (MNA), while some half a dozen vehicles were torched as city’s downtown and surrounding areas changed into a battle ground, where gangsters propelled rockets and hurled hand grenades freely besides engaging in intense exchange of fire.
Former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MNA Waja Karim Dad and his friend Sadruddin Bhai were shot dead, when they were sitting along with other friends at a hotel located near Jamaat Khana Punjabi Club in the remits of Jackson police station.
Police said the deceased were breaking their fast when motorcyclists arrived on the spot and opened firing on them. Resultantly, both received bullet injuries and died on the spot.
Dad was elected as a MNA from Lyari twice. He was the founder of PPP in Lyari, and enjoyed closed association with former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Later, unidentified armed men, mounted on a motorcycle, opened indiscriminate firing at a food stall, where people were sitting for Aftari near Achi Qabar Mithadar. Resultantly, 35-year-old Yousaf died on the spot, while six others were injured.
Police shifted them to CHK, where two more persons succumbed to their injuries. The incidents added fuel to an already tense situation persisting in Lyari and the surrounding areas, where five bullet-riddled dead bodies were spotted on Wednesday.
Five out of seven dead bodies found from different areas during the early hours on Wednesday belonged to Lyari.
Police said that three gunny bag bodies were found from a place near Rehmania Masjid, Tariq Road in the limits of Ferozeabad police station.
The deceased were identified as Kamran Behram, 26, and Shahnawaz Maula. Corpse of Bux, 25, and a bullet-riddled dead body of 25-year-old Saqib Abdul Ghani was recovered from PECHS Block II. Police said the deceased were friends and residents of Sango Lane Sarbazi Muhalla. They went for shopping when unidentified assailants kidnapped them and shot them multiple times. Yet another bullet-riddled corpse of a youth was found from a place near Water Hydrant, Garden. The deceased was identified as Irfan, 23, a resident of Mira Nakka, Lyari. Police said Irfan went missing since Tuesday night when he left home for having dinner with his friends.
A dead body of 24-year-old Nadir, who was shot dead by unidentified culprits, was recovered from a spot near Hashoo Centre in the jurisdiction of Preedy police station.
Another bullet-riddled body was found from Korangi Industrial Area. Police registered a case 797/11 against unidentified culprits and shifted the body to morgue after autopsy.
A young man was shot dead near Central Jail Usmania Colony in the limits of Jamshed Quarter police station.
The victim was identified as Shan, son of Saabir Ali, resident of PIB colony. He was standing at a pan shop situated near Jail Chowrangi, when unidentified armed men targeted him and ran away. Police shifted his body to a nearest private hospital and then moved to CHK for post mortem.
Following unabated target killings, various areas of the city remained tense while in Lyari, where funeral prayers of five victims were offered enraged protesters led by Shahid Rehman, leader of defunct People Amman Committee (PAC), rushed to the Chief Minister House and chanted slogans against raging lawlessness and demanded the arrest of assailants. Despite assurances given by the authorities, Lyari and its suburbs remain tense and miscreants hurled at least a dozen hand grenades and propelled two rockets at Salar compound, Bhimpura and Aqal Bonga compound that left three persons injured.
Heavy gunshots continued in the limits of Nippier and Risala area.
Seven persons, including 12-year-old Osha, daughter of Ramji, Dheeraj, 8, Momaiji, 25, Kalpana Peraj, 18, Kaushial Peraj, 40, 80-year-old Deshpar, son of Deol received bullet injuries. Police shifted them to CHK for medical treatment where during treatment Osha, Dheeraj and Deshpal succumbed to their injuries.
Police official said the victims and injured belonged to the same family.
Unidentified miscreants fired two rockets. Resultantly three vehicles Suzuki Mehran Car bearing registration No ATM-802, a motorcycle and CNG rickshaw were set ablaze.
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Karachi continues to bleed, 24 more killed-Live blog
Saeed Abbasi ----> Aug 18th, 2011 // 1 Comment
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Karachi: At least 24 bodies have been found in different parts of Karachi since mid night, bringing death toll to 40 during last 24 hours.
The bodies were found from Lee Market, Garden, Baldia Town, Mauripur Truck Stand and Sher Shah Pankha Hotel.
Two people were killed in Kalri and Mirza Adam Khan road in Lyari area on Thursday.
Following the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi’s old city area of Lyari, Police arrested three suspects during the late Wednesday night search operation.
Heavy contingent of police including special commandos participated in the operation that was launched in various parts of Liyari including Salar Commound and Bhempura.
According to police, Four bullet-riddled bodies were recovered from Lea Market area. Identities of the deceased were yet to be ascertained.
Three gun-shot bodies were found from 19-D, Baldia Town. Out of them, two bodies were identified as the employees of Fire Brigade who were abducted on late Wednesday evening. While, a man was gunned down near Saeedabad Post Office.
Two more bodies were recovered from Garden area of Karachi while another man was shot dead in Manghopir.
However, unidentified miscreants riding a bike hurled a hand grenade at an office of a political party in Ranchore Line and fled. But there were no reports of any causality or injury in the attack.
Meanwhile, a rocket was also fired in Mir Alam Market of Baldia No 3 from any unknown destination, but the result was same as was in Ranchore Line attack.
Aerial firing incident were also reported in different areas of Baldia Town, producing panic and fear among masses and forcing them to stay indoors.
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26 killed as Karachi bloodshed continues
Updated at: 1314 PST, Thursday, August 18, 2011
KARACHI: Karachi continues to bleed as 42 people have been killed in the last 24 hours. Since midnight 26 people have lost their lives due to incidents of firing and torture, Geo News reported.
Firing continued and bodies were recovered from different areas of the city. According to the Police, bodies were recovered from Baldia Town, Lee Market, Sher Shah, Mari Pur, Manghopir,and several other areas.
The bodies bore marks of torture and were riddled with bullets. Police officials say there were small notes recovered from the pockets of deceased, saying, "want war or peace or should we send more".
Four bodies in Sher Shah were recovered from a car belonging to a mobile phone company. Two of those killed were employees of the mobile phone company and were identified as Javed and Imran.
In Baldia Town, one of the dead was identified as station officer Miran Naka fire station Liaquat Zafar Farooqui. Fire brigade officials informed that deceased Zafar Farooqui was abducted along with fireman Muhammad Irfan from Miran Naka fire station.
In another incident in Badia town, unidentified armed men killed a man and injured four others. Sporadic firing is continuing in Baldia town no.4 area. Armed men also opened fire at a police station.
The body of the head constable of the Navy Town police station was also recovered who had left to get iftari on Wednesday and had not returned.
A body unidentified person was also recovered from Manghopir, while two bodies were recovered from Garden area.
==
42 dead in new Karachi violence; gang wars blamed
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Karachi hit with shooting and grenade attacks Play Video Pakistan Video:Karachi hit with shooting and grenade attacks Reuters
Search Continues For Md. Man Kidnapped In Pakistan Play Video Pakistan Video:Search Continues For Md. Man Kidnapped In Pakistan WJZ 13 Baltimore
Company: Kidnapped Md. Man Committed To Pakistan Play Video Pakistan Video:Company: Kidnapped Md. Man Committed To Pakistan WJZ 13 Baltimore
By Faisal Aziz – 2 hrs 24 mins ago
KARACHI (Reuters) – Up to 42 people have been killed in a fresh outbreak of violence in Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city and commercial capital, but police on Thursday said the clashes now focused more on gang turf wars after months of ethnic and political disputes.
Much of the fighting erupted in and around the old district of Lyari, long a focus of spats between rival gangs and a stronghold of President Asif Ali Zardari'a Pakistan People's Party (PPP).
A former PPP lawmaker was among the dead.
An official at the city's main government hospital put the death toll at 42 over the past 36 hours. Nineteen bodies had been brought in since Wednesday evening.
"Most of the killings have resulted from clashes between criminal gangs operating in Lyari and surrounding areas," a senior police official said.
"It's not the kind of fighting that we saw last month, this is more of a gang war."
But police said turf wars between gangs dealing in drugs and extortion rackets were by no means a new development in Lyari.
"These gangs regularly clash and kill members and supporters of rival groups," the senior official said.
"Many times, innocent people are also targeted in this rivalry. However, many of those killed end up linked to one gang or the other. Some of these gangs do have political support and backing, but still you cannot term this as a political war as such."
He acknowledged that "a few" of those killed may have been targeted over their ethnic or political affiliation.
A city of more than 18 million, Karachi has a long history of violence, and ethnic, religious and sectarian disputes and political rows can often explode into battles engulfing entire neighborhoods.
Street thugs and ethnic gangs have been used by political parties as foot soldiers in a turf war in a city which contributes about two-third of Pakistan's tax revenue and is home to ports, the stock exchange and central bank.
Pakistan's interior minister earlier this month vowed to restore peace in the city after a fresh bout of violence and warned of stern action against militants and criminals.
Hundreds of additional police and paramilitary troops were deployed in Karachi last month to quell the unrest.
About 300 people were killed last month - one of the deadliest months in almost two decades - in fighting linked to ethnic and religious tensions that plague Karachi.
According to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, 800 people have been killed in the first seven months of this year in ethnic and politically linked violence alone.
Al Qaeda-linked militants targeted Karachi for bombings, kidnappings and assassinations after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, when Pakistan joined the U.S.-led campaign against militancy. Foreigners were repeatedly attacked.
(Editing by Chris Allbritton and Ron Popeski)
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Friday, August 19, 2011 E-Mail this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version
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Bloodshed continues unabated in Karachi
* 29 more fall prey to politically motivated ethnic violence
* MQM offices and passenger buses attacked in different areas
By Atif Raza
KARACHI: Shrinking political differences could not prevent loss of precious lives in commercial capital of the country, where 29 additional victims increased the death toll to 45 on Thursday.
Politically motivated ethnic violence claimed 29 more precious lives of innocent citizens on Thursday.
Violence began Wednesday morning when five bullet-riddled dead bodies of Lyari residents were sent to their homes. In reaction to this, Lyari gangsters started firing, hurling hand grenades and propelling rockets.
Indiscriminate firing and target killings also claimed the life of former PPP MNA Waja Kareem Dad, while various other persons were shot dead in the surrounding areas of Lyari.
Besides the killings of 20 persons, unidentified armed men abducted some two-dozen innocent passers-by and commuters threw their gunny bag corpses in different areas of the city.
Various offices of MQM were also attacked, as gangsters propelled rockets and hurled hand grenades, while various public passenger buses were also attacked in different areas.
The first horrific incident took place during wee hours on Wednesday, when four gunny bag bodies were found in Pankha Hotel, Shershah.
The bodies were recovered from a pickup bearing registration number CP-5584. The victims were identified as Imran, Muddasar and Javed, while another person was yet to be identified.
The deceased were the employees of a private mobile company and deputed in Lyari.
In the second most horrific incident in Baldia’s Sector 19 D, the assailants dumped three gunny bag bodies near Saabri Mosque. One of the victims was identified as Liaquat Azhar Farooqi, an employee of Lyari fire station, and resident of Mira Naka Lyari. The other one was identified as Azeemullah, resident of Landhi, while the third victim is yet to be identified. In Saeedabad, Sharah, a man was found shot dead.
Yasir, the deceased, 22, was the resident of Baldia Sector 5-J. He was killed after he was kidnapped.
In the same area, two bullet-riddled dead bodies were found. They were identified as Abdul Waheed, 22, and Zubair. The deceased were the residents of Baldia Sector 12 and they used to work in a shoe shop.
Another bullet-riddled corpse was found in Site B police limits from a place near Ghani Chowrangi.
The deceased was identified as HC Mohammad Ejaz, resident of Garden Head Quarter, who was deployed in New Town police station.
Two slaughtered dead bodies were found in the limits of Soldier Bazaar police station. The bodies were found from a place near zoological garden.
One of the deceased was a youth, who was identified as Noman, resident of Baldia. In the remits of Baghdadi police station, three more gunny bag bodies were found from near Kukri Ground, Nawab Mohammad Road.
The deceased were identified as Rao Hanif, Zubair and Junaid, residents of Orangi Town number 10. They used to work in Lea Market.
Two gunny bag bodies were found in the limits of Kalri, Mirza Adam Khan Road Agra Taj Colony. Hands and legs of the victims were tied, while their bodies bore marks of torture.
Two more gunny bag bodies were found from City Railway Station, Wazir Mansion railway track. The deceased were identified as Zeeshan, 25, Shahzaib, 23. A bullet-riddled corpse was spotted in Manghopir area of Northern Bypass, Ali Mohammad Goth.
The deceased was identified as Nabi Bux, 52, who was resident of the same area. Javed alias Crazy was shot dead near Qatar Hospital in Orangi Town. The deceased was released from jail few days back.
In the remits of Nabi Bux police station at Chand Bibi road, a gunny bag body of a youth was found.
In Rizvia police station limits, near Lasbela bridge, one dead body bearing marks of torture was found and shifted to morgue for autopsy.
A rickshaw driver, Abdul Rasheed, was found dead in Block S within the remits of Sharah Noor Jahan police station. Unidentified gunmen took hostage a van carrying 13 workers of a private company from Chakiwara Road in the limits of Kalri police station.
Later, they released 12 passengers but kept Yousuf in captivity.
An activist of Mohajir Qaumi Movement- Haqiqi (MQM-H), Qasim, was shot dead by unidentified armed men in Sherpao Colony in the precincts of Quaidabad police station.
Separately Ghulam Shabbir was shot dead in Hussain Hazara Goth in the limits of Gulistan Jauhar police station.
In another incident, Younus was shot dead in New Karachi sector 11-D. He was sitting outside his home when unidentified armed men targeted him.
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Sunni Tehreek, SSP clash leaves two dead
KARACHI: Armed clash between the activists of Sunni Tehreek and banned outfit Sipah- e- Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) claimed two lives on Thursday, while four others were injured in Godhra within the limits of New Karachi Industrial Area. The clash started between two religious parties before Iftar, when two armed groups opened fire at each other. Resultantly, two persons, Ghulam Dastagir, son of Ahmed and Taufeeq, son of Mohammad Hussain, died on the spot, while four others Akhter, Shahnaz Bibi, Siraj and others received bullet injuries. Police shifted them to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. Due to armed clash all shops and markets remained closed. Heavy contingents of police and Rangers cordoned of the area. Leader of Jamiat Ulema Pakistan Tariq Mehboob claimed that victim Ghulam Dastagir was an activist of his party. staff report
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Imam faces sex charges
Masroor
More about Toronto Crime
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‘I could not do anything’
TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
Published: August 18, 2011 5:59 a.m.
Last modified: August 17, 2011 11:34 p.m.
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Members of a Scarborough mosque have expressed shock and disbelief that their “nice” and “humble” religious leader has been charged with a string of sexual assaults.
Mohammad Masroor, the imam at the Baitul Mukarram Islamic Society on Danforth Avenue, faces 13 charges involving five alleged victims.
Police said Masroor, 48, travelled the world before settling in Toronto in 2008, and they believe there could be more victims.
Det. Const. Karen Armstrong said Masroor used his position of leadership “to his advantage.” She said Masroor, who teaches in the mosque as well as in private homes, knew the alleged victims.
Masroor taught in Florida, Michigan and Bangladesh before coming to Canada, police say. He has also lived and taught in Germany, France, Hungary, Singapore and Sri Lanka.
More about Toronto Crime
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Mohammad Masroor, 48, an assistant imam and a married father of two daughters and three sons, taught the Qur'an to children. (Supplied photo)
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TORONTO - New information has come to light in the investigation about a religious leader from a Scarborough mosque already accused of sexually related offences involving five kids.
But Toronto Police won’t say if that means more alleged victims have come forward since they went public this week with their charges against the 48-year-old man, who has lived around the globe.
“The ongoing investigation is progressing, however, no new charges have been laid,” Const. Wendy Drummond said Thursday, unable to elaborate.
In an effort to protect the victims involved, police have been tight-lipped about the case since announcing Wednesday that Mohammad Masroor was arrested on Aug. 10.
Investigators won’t even reveal exactly what charges have been laid against the Toronto man, nor would they reveal the ages of the victims, except to say they’re both male and female.
Police have only said Masroor faces 13 charges and the allegations involve “sexual related offences and threatening death.”
Masroor is an imam at the Baitul Mukarram Islamic Society on Danforth Ave., just west of Danforth Rd.
Members of the mosque, who were shaken by the news, have said he teaches the Qur'an to young girls and boys at the mosque and in their homes.
Police have confirmed the five alleged victims who have so far come forward were students of the accused.
Investigators claim Masroor used his position of authority to commit the offences and they fear there are more victims.
“We believe there are other victims, but we have no idea where,” Drummond said.
Masroor came to Canada in 2008, but he has lived in Asia, Europe, Florida and Michigan.
It’s hoped any other victims will learn of the charges through social media and contact their local police, Drummond said, adding investigators in Toronto will work with officers from other forces when and if the need arises.
She said officers are aware of cultural differences are assisting with the investigation in an effort to ensure any potential victims or witnesses feel comfortable about coming forward.
The fact the accused is someone who is “held in high esteem,” and that charges include threatening death, only add to the sensitive nature of the case, Drummond said.
Masroor remains in custody pending a court appearance Monday.
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Members of a Scarborough mosque have expressed shock and disbelief that their “nice” and “humble” religious leader has been charged with a string of sexual assaults.
Mohammad Masroor, the imam at the Baitul Mukarram Islamic Society on Danforth Ave., faces 13 charges involving sexual offences and death threats relating to five alleged victims.
Police said Masroor, 48, travelled the world before settling in Toronto in 2008, and believe there could be more victims, here and abroad.
Abdur Rouf Tarafdar was one of more than a dozen people who vouched for Masroor’s pious character as he left afternoon prayer on Wednesday.
“I know him. Behind him I pray,” he said.
Abdul Fattah Aboud, an imam at the Baitul Aman Masjid mosque a few blocks away, said the father of five used to wave as he passed by on his way to prayer.
“Is it possible? Someone like him?” he said. “He’s a very well respected person in the community.”
Det. Const. Karen Armstrong said Masroor used his position of leadership “to his advantage.” She said Masroor, who teaches in the mosque as well as in private homes, knew the alleged victims.
Masroor was arrested Aug. 10 after a three-week investigation that is still ongoing. The assaults allegedly occurred between Nov. 1, 2008 and July 28, 2011.
“The victims are both male and female,” Armstrong said. “We believe there are other victims as (the accused) has lived and worked worldwide.”
Masroor taught in Florida, Michigan and Bangladesh before coming to Canada, according to police. He has also lived and taught in Germany, France, Hungary, Singapore and Sri Lanka but police said the investigation is not limited to those areas.
Toronto investigators have yet to speak with foreign police forces about the case, Armstrong said.
Members of the mosque were especially upset that the allegations come during the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast during daylight hours.
“For a Muslim, this is very shameful. We really condemn it,” said Muti Mughal. “I still don’t believe it.”
Police said Masroor is being held in custody, and that a publication ban is in place.
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Parties react: Political rhetoric heats up as violence spikes again
By Irfan Aligi / Zia Khan
Published: August 18, 2011
Addressing a press conference after attending a meeting on law and order, which was presided over by Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, Wassan said: “Enough is enough, we have finally decided to take action.” PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI:
As the bodies piled up in Karachi, temperatures rose with an exchange of warnings and concerns by the political leadership. However, the question about who is behind violence remained unanswered.
Speaking on the latest crisis faced by Karachi, Prime Minister Yousaf
Raza Gilani hinted that more “aggressive” measures will be taken to restore peace in the financial hub. The prime minister also warned of “across the board action”.
Gilani met Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Governor Sindh Ishratul Ebad separately in the day. According to a handout statement by his office, Gilani promised Malik ‘additional operational logistics’ to step up efforts aimed at controlling the latest spree of killings.
The statement, however, was vague about what additional logistics Gilani was referring to.
Sources familiar with the matter said more troops from paramilitary Rangers or Frontier Constabulary may be deployed – a move the government has been considering for some time now.
In his meeting with Ebad, the second in less than 24 hours, Gilani said government agencies will take action against criminals destroying peace in the city. “Show no leniency to elements that are ruining the city,” the prime minister said.
On the direction of the prime minister, Rehman Malik reached Karachi on Thursday evening. The interior minister said there is a need for a parliamentary committee with representation from all parties to probe the killings.
MQM blames government
Karachi’s largest party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, blamed certain leaders in the government for letting the violence perpetuate.
“The government, police and the provincial administration are silent spectators to the ongoing violence which is being fuelled by the Peoples Peace Committee and the Lyari gang war,” MQM’s Raza Haroon said. “The international community and human rights organisations will have to see that these terrorists promoting gang war, lawlessness and killings in Karachi have the support of certain leaders of the government,” Haroon told a press conference after a meeting of Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) coordination committee.
Haroon said that as a result of the government’s ignorance, those involved in the violence have become fearless and are now targeting innocent Urdu-speaking people just to sabotage the good relations between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the MQM, which may join the government by the end of Ramazan.
(Read: PPP-MQM: The deal has been done)
Home minister says he can’t tell
Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wassan said the government will take action against target killers irrespective of their party affiliations.
Addressing a press conference after attending a meeting on law and order, which was presided over by Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, Wassan said: “Enough is enough, we have finally decided to take action.”
Speaking on the decisions taken at the meeting, he said that the recent incidents were a result of target killings of five Baloch who were kidnapped and killed in different areas.
He said that officials of intelligence agencies, police and Rangers jointly briefed the meeting where terrorists are operating.
“We have directed police and law enforcement agencies to take action, regardless of whether the suspects are from PPP, MQM or ANP,” he said.
When asked to disclose who was behind the violence, the minister was reluctant to respond and said: “It will be premature to name the conspirators. We will take sudden action against them and have devised a plan.”
Altaf Hussain calls prime minister
MQM chief Altaf Hussain called Gilani and expressed his concern over the situation. Farooq Sattar, the deputy convener of MQM’s coordination committee, also spoke to the prime minister and briefed him about the security problems.
In a recent report, the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said 800 people have been killed in Karachi so far this year, compared with 748 in 2010.
(ADDITIONAL INPUT BY HAFEEZ TUNIO)
Published in The Express Tribune, August 19th, 2011.
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Karachi violence: 31 dead as fragile peace shatters
By Salman Siddiqui
Published: August 19, 2011
Relatives mourn the death of their loved ones who were shot dead in the overnight spate of violence in Karachi. PHOTO: MOHAMMAD SAQIB/EXPRESS
Relatives mourn the death of their loved ones who were shot dead in the overnight spate of violence in Karachi. PHOTO: MOHAMMAD SAQIB/EXPRESS A relative mourns the death of a shooting victim outside a hospital in Karachi. PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI: The fragility of calm in Karachi has been exposed yet again.
What started off as a back-and-forth between two gangs, albeit with shades of political jostling, built into another day of intense violence, amidst what seemed to be progress towards peace.
By the end of Thursday, at least 31 more people were killed in a blowout of warring that ran against the play of a relative lull in the violence-stricken metropolis – which now finds itself hurtling towards another security-cum-political crisis.
There was chaos at the police surgeon’s office on M A Jinnah Road in Karachi as staff scrambled to absorb a consistently increasing body count.
Police surgeon Hamid Pardhyar said that he has been at work since Wednesday evening because of the escalating killings.
The latest spurt of violence started on Wednesday night, which saw seven people killed, including the gunning down of a former MNA of the Pakistan Peoples Party and a popular social worker Waja Karim Daad in Karachi’s troubled Lyari area.
“Seventeen people had been killed till Wednesday night and since then, 22 more bodies were found in different parts of the city,” said Additional Inspector-General of Sindh Police (IGP) Saud Mirza.
But Mirza sought to dispel the impression that the police had been ineffective in controlling the violence.
(Read: How the police is failing the people of Karachi)
“Raids are being conducted in Lyari, which is not a small thing, and arrests are expected. A target killer was also apprehended earlier in the day,” Mirza claimed.
However, shoddy work on part of inspectors has just made it worse for those at the police surgeon’s office where the body count is being maintained. Reports on the victims are being brought in without completing formalities, they said.
Pardhyar also confirmed the toll. From 7 pm on Wednesday till 9 am on Thursday, he said, 30 people had died, of which 29 were taken to the Civil Hospital and one to Jinnah Hospital.
Brutal
Many bodies that have turned up are dismembered. According to an inspector at Pardhyar’s office, bullets were pumped through the faces of two victims whose bodies he picked up from the Wazir Mansion area. One of them even had holes drilled in. The youngsters were residents of New Karachi and had gone to visit an uncle in Lyari where they were kidnapped on Wednesday evening along with their Suzuki car.
Bodies turning up in gunny bags also contain notes. Three bodies discovered within the remits of the Baghdadi Police Station had messages on a piece of paper that said: “do you want peace or war?” and “is this enough or do you want more?”
(Read: Seeking an end to Karachi’s killings)
According to the surgeon, a young boy Dheraj and an octogenarian Tejpal are also on the list of the dead.
Liaqat, a fire officer, was kidnapped from a fire brigade station in Lyari. Chief Fire Officer Ehtishamuddin Siddiqui said Liaqat’s body was discovered early Thursday morning in a bag. Another fireman, Mohammad Irfan, was kidnapped with Liaqat, but managed to survive despite suffering critical injuries.
“The station houses around 45 people and they’re terrified,” Siddiqui said, adding that they’ve requested authorities for protection. Additional IGP Mirza said the police will try their utmost to protect the firemen but that it was probable that Liaqat and Irfan were targeted for their ethnicities.
DIG South Shaukat Shah said around 13 employees of Dino Company were travelling in a van when they were taken hostage at the ICI Bridge near Mauripur Road on Thursday afternoon. Armed attackers picked one man and let the other 12 free.
Behind the killings
Off the record, police officials admit that the violence is a spill-over and a so-called chain reaction between two warring gangs in Lyari, namely the Arshad Pappu/Ghaffar Zikri versus the Peoples Amn Committee/Baba Ladla group. They also admit they are helpless in controlling the situation as gangsters are allegedly supported by the ruling political party. On Thursday, Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wassan said the killings were a result of kidnapping and killing of five Baloch youth.
(Read: Lyari stunned as 6 funerals emerge from one lane)
But the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Karachi Division general-secretary Saeed Ghani says the party, as a matter of policy, doesn’t support or patronise any criminal group in Lyari or elsewhere in the city. Ghani said he doesn’t believe the messages turning up in gunny bags are directed at the PPP.
However, SSP South Naeem Shaikh refused to speak about the role of Lyari’s infamous gangsters but admitted that the solution lies in Lyari even while many bodies continue to be discovered in other parts of the city.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 19th, 2011.
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Industrialists call for handing over Karachi to Army
Ali Hussain ----> Aug 19th, 2011 // No Comment
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Karachi: Industrialists and businessmen demanded of the government to hand over Karachi to Army for maintenance of law and order situation in the metropolitan.
Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that the lawlessness and activities of Bhatta mafia have assumed such an alarming proportion that the police and Rangers were not capable enough to restore peace to the city and take action against the miscreants.
President KCCI Saeed Shafiq said that the situation in the city was so grim and grave that it was near impossible for them to carry on their businesses and industrial activities. He added there is a complete breakdown of law in Karachi and no one feel himself safe and secure in the city. He demanded that Army should be called in the city and it should take action against the elements involved in targeted killings and extortions.
Meanwhile, Korangi Association of Trade and Industry and other industrial and traders association have also demanded that Karachi be handed over to Army.
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11 more killed in ongoing Karachi violence
By Express / Salman Siddiqui
Published: August 19, 2011
42 people have been gunned down in various parts of the city in the last 24 hours. PHOTO: RASHID AJMERI/EXPRESS
42 people have been gunned down in various parts of the city in the last 24 hours. PHOTO: RASHID AJMERI/EXPRESS Police say one target killer arrested, raids being conducted in Lyari. PHOTO: RASHID AJMERI/EXPRESS Relatives mourn the death of their loved ones who were shot dead in the overnight spate of violence in Karachi. PHOTO: MOHAMMAD SAQIB/EXPRESS A relative mourns the death of a shooting victim outside a hospital in Karachi. PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI: Eleven people were gunned down in various parts of Karachi on Friday, raising the death toll of the recent spate of violence in the last 24 hours to 42.
Most of the killings have been reported in the southern Lyari neighbourhood, a PPP stronghold infested by powerful criminal gangs.
Karachi’s worst-affected areas are impoverished and heavily populated neighbourhoods where most of the criminal gangs are believed to be hiding.
The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said 800 people have been killed in Karachi so far this year, compared with 748 in 2010.
The bodies bore signs of torture and were stuffed in jute gunny bags.
The old Karachi area and adjoining neighbourhoods of Lyari, Manghopir, Shershah, Saeedabad, Maripur and Muhajir Goth remain disturbed.
However, traders vowed to resume business and expressed frustration at the security situation in the city.
President Asif Ali Zardari summoned a high-level meeting at the Presidency today, to discuss the volatile situation in Karachi.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and several members of the Sindh Cabinet will participate in the meeting. Sources say target killing and extortion will be on top of the agenda.
The president will also review security measures planned for Karachi and law and order in Sindh.
The Sindh chief minister will present a briefing on steps taken by the Sindh government against acts of violence in the province.
Updated from print edition (below)
31 dead as fragile peace shatters
The fragility of calm in Karachi has been exposed yet again.
What started off as a back-and-forth between two gangs, albeit with shades of political jostling, built into another day of intense violence, amidst what seemed to be progress towards peace.
By the end of Thursday, at least 31 more people were killed in a blowout of warring that ran against the play of a relative lull in the violence-stricken metropolis – which now finds itself hurtling towards another security-cum-political crisis.
There was chaos at the police surgeon’s office on M A Jinnah Road in Karachi as staff scrambled to absorb a consistently increasing body count.
Police surgeon Hamid Pardhyar said that he has been at work since Wednesday evening because of the escalating killings.
The latest spurt of violence started on Wednesday night, which saw seven people killed, including the gunning down of a former MNA of the Pakistan Peoples Party and a popular social worker Waja Karim Daad in Karachi’s troubled Lyari area.
“Seventeen people had been killed till Wednesday night and since then, 22 more bodies were found in different parts of the city,” said Additional Inspector-General of Sindh Police (IGP) Saud Mirza.
But Mirza sought to dispel the impression that the police had been ineffective in controlling the violence.
(Read: How the police is failing the people of Karachi)
“Raids are being conducted in Lyari, which is not a small thing, and arrests are expected. A target killer was also apprehended earlier in the day,” Mirza claimed.
However, shoddy work on part of inspectors has just made it worse for those at the police surgeon’s office where the body count is being maintained. Reports on the victims are being brought in without completing formalities, they said.
Pardhyar also confirmed the toll. From 7 pm on Wednesday till 9 am on Thursday, he said, 30 people had died, of which 29 were taken to the Civil Hospital and one to Jinnah Hospital.
Brutal
Many bodies that have turned up are dismembered. According to an inspector at Pardhyar’s office, bullets were pumped through the faces of two victims whose bodies he picked up from the Wazir Mansion area. One of them even had holes drilled in. The youngsters were residents of New Karachi and had gone to visit an uncle in Lyari where they were kidnapped on Wednesday evening along with their Suzuki car.
Bodies turning up in gunny bags also contain notes. Three bodies discovered within the remits of the Baghdadi Police Station had messages on a piece of paper that said: “do you want peace or war?” and “is this enough or do you want more?”
(Read: Seeking an end to Karachi’s killings)
According to the surgeon, a young boy Dheraj and an octogenarian Tejpal are also on the list of the dead.
Liaqat, a fire officer, was kidnapped from a fire brigade station in Lyari. Chief Fire Officer Ehtishamuddin Siddiqui said Liaqat’s body was discovered early Thursday morning in a bag. Another fireman, Mohammad Irfan, was kidnapped with Liaqat, but managed to survive despite suffering critical injuries.
“The station houses around 45 people and they’re terrified,” Siddiqui said, adding that they’ve requested authorities for protection. Additional IGP Mirza said the police will try their utmost to protect the firemen but that it was probable that Liaqat and Irfan were targeted for their ethnicities.
DIG South Shaukat Shah said around 13 employees of Dino Company were travelling in a van when they were taken hostage at the ICI Bridge near Mauripur Road on Thursday afternoon. Armed attackers picked one man and let the other 12 free.
Behind the killings
Off the record, police officials admit that the violence is a spill-over and a so-called chain reaction between two warring gangs in Lyari, namely the Arshad Pappu/Ghaffar Zikri versus the Peoples Amn Committee/Baba Ladla group. They also admit they are helpless in controlling the situation as gangsters are allegedly supported by the ruling political party. On Thursday, Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wassan said the killings were a result of kidnapping and killing of five Baloch youth.
(Read: Lyari stunned as 6 funerals emerge from one lane)
But the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Karachi Division general-secretary Saeed Ghani says the party, as a matter of policy, doesn’t support or patronise any criminal group in Lyari or elsewhere in the city. Ghani said he doesn’t believe the messages turning up in gunny bags are directed at the PPP.
However, SSP South Naeem Shaikh refused to speak about the role of Lyari’s infamous gangsters but admitted that the solution lies in Lyari even while many bodies continue to be discovered in other parts of the city.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 19th, 2011.
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Altaf concerned over FIA, IB reports
Asad Ahmed ----> Aug 19th, 2011 // No Comment
4Share
Islamabad: Muttahida Qaumi Movemnet Chief Altaf Hussain called President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari and expressed concerns over the behaviours of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB).
Hussain informed that president that FIA and IB were presenting fake reports to British government while President Zardari rejected Hussain’s statement and ensured him that investigation would be carried out in this regard.
Earlier, President Zardari telephoned MQM chief and invited him to rejoin the federal and provincial governments again. Sources said that MQM has also given green signals to rejoin the government.
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Wasan to MQM: name PPP leaders behind violence
Saeed Abbasi ----> Aug 19th, 2011 // No Comment
3Share
Islamabad: Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan has said that he would like Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to tell him the names of the provincial ministers who it says are patronising the terrorists.
Talking to media persons in Islamabad on Friday, he said now practical measures would be taken to ensure peace in the metropolis.
Replying to a question, he said reporters should no more ask him questions about dreams. “Time has come to take serious steps to ensure security to Karachiites.”
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah said that President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari has ordered practical measures to restore peace in Karachi.
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Cycle of violence: Mr Rehman Malik, meet Karachi’s wives and girlfriends
By Saba Imtiaz
Published: August 20, 2011
Before the funeral, people fan the bodies of Irfan and Azhar in Liaquatabad where the lights went out because of load shedding. PHOTOS: NEFER SEHGAL/EXPRESS
Before the funeral, people fan the bodies of Irfan and Azhar in Liaquatabad where the lights went out because of load shedding. PHOTOS: NEFER SEHGAL/EXPRESS Twenty-six-year-old victim Azhar’s brother Khizar hugs his mother Rani while a neighbor tries to console her.
KARACHI:
In one of his usual ill-timed platitudes last month, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said 70% of target killings in Karachi were courtesy wives and girlfriends looking to get rid of their partners and vice versa.
But for the wives, girlfriends and fiancées of the victims of target killings, the blame – all 100% – lies with the government and criminals linked to political parties locked in a hellish cycle of revenge.
Maria is one such wife. Her husband Irfan Gulzar told her he was stepping out close by and would be back shortly.
His mangled remains came back to her in a body bag on Thursday evening. A relative who went to the morgue said he counted 25 bodies in a similar state.
“He was a good husband,” she says in a faint voice, labouring over each word. Her mother-in-law makes her sip a glass of cold water. The two women – a grieving widow and mother – have no idea where their life goes from here. Remarrying is for now a distant, unthinkable concept for Maria. This Eid would have been the couple’s two-year anniversary.
Another victim, Azhar, 26, had never ventured into Lyari’s Jatpat Market before. He made a living each day by embroidering Baloch designs on fabric. As business had been slowed down in four days of violence, he decided to try the market to look for work.
His fiancée cries. His mother sits, wailing, clutching her daughters. Her son, Khizr, holds her head in his hands, imploring her to stop.
A few paces away, her son’s body – beheaded, pockmarked with bullets and scarred by torture – lies in a wooden coffin, waiting to be taken to the graveyard.
The house and courtyard are crowded with women, some sobbing, others speaking in hushed tones. “His body was cut into pieces,” whispers one. Another says she had heard of girls being kidnapped from Liaquatabad, “injected with drugs” and then “photographed”.
“The boys were riled up(To stir to anger.) on Thursday,” says Mohammad Usman, who used to be councillor in the area. “They wanted to retaliate but we stopped them. Killing each other is not the solution.”
Women flood into the houses in Liaquatabad to mourn, their young children in tow, who appear entirely at sea. Nine-year-old Huzaifa confidently remarks that he knows the ethnicity of the man who killed Azhar. When the gunmen came, he ran inside his house.
At Irfan’s house, Kanwal, 11, sits among the mourners. “I hear bullets at night,” she says. “It scares me, I cannot go to sleep.”
She lives near Haji Camp, explains a woman sitting nearby. “Her other siblings are so scared because hand grenades were lobbed into their neighbourhood. They have been moved to their grandmother’s house in Malir. Only Kanwal has stayed back with her mother.”
Mothers are concerned about their young children’s mental state. “My son doesn’t want to go to the mosque because he’s scared of dying. What happens if we cannot even go to God’s house?”
As mourners amassed at Azhar’s house on Thursday evening, a couple of men passed by and shot at the marquee pitched outside the building. “Our boys also got their arms out and took up positions,” says Azhar’s cousin, Suraiya. “They have to defend and protect us if these things happen. Will everyone now need to be armed?”
“What else do you expect when men have no jobs?” says a former Peoples Amn Committee member on Wednesday. “Of course they will take up arms.”
Across town, Khizr agrees. “There is a lot of anger.”
The rage among Karachi’s young men has manifested itself as target killings, which have constantly ticked on for over a year now. The guns are whipped out seconds after the news spreads of the death of a political party member or an ill-timed speech. And the outcome of the ‘revenge’ fills the morgues.
Near Liaquatabad Daakhana, a few tyres are set on fire. It is a warning sign: the real fire and anger lies ahead, glowering in the young men’s minds.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2011.
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ALERT
Six police commandos killed, DSP injured in Karachi
Saeed Abbasi ----> Aug 20th, 2011 // No Comment
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Karachi: At least six police personnel have been killed in a miscreants’ ambush in Karachi, leaving dozens others injured in the attack, bringing the death toll to 25 within 24 hours.
At the one hand citizens and police personnel are being massacred while at the other hand buses packed with passengers are being abducted. But law enforcing agencies are seemed hapless to arrest the killers of a single incident.
It is pertinent to mention here that Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik has been in Karachi for the last 24 hours but no achievement has so far been seen in Karachi even not a single terrorist was arrested despite law enforcing agencies have been put on red alter.
The latest development took place in Korangi No 2 ½ where police bus was sprayed with bullets from four sides, The News Tribe correspondent reported from Karachi.
A private Pakistani news channel quoted one of the injured police personnel, saying there were over 50 policemen in the bus, out of which at least 30 received bullet injures. The policeman also told that there were some 500 attackers who ambushed the police bus.
He informed that they were moving towards Chakra Goth to control the situation where two groups were fighting each other. But when they reached at Korangi No 2 ½ they were attacked from four sides.
He also informed that the vehicle of DIG East and DSP Quaidabad was way forward of the police bus. In the attack, DSP Badar Shah sustained injuries while DIG East Akram Naeem remained unhurt.
The injured were rushed to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) for treatment. The hospital administration said that death toll may rise as some of the injured were serious. Medical emergency has been in JPMC to secure police personnel.
Meanwhile, IG Police (IGP) Sindh Wajid Durrani has claimed that three attacked were also killed in the encounter.
Another development took place near Edhi Morgue, Sohrab Goth from where a minibus of route W-11, packed with passengers, were abducted. But it is yet to be known that how many passengers were in the bus.
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No let up in Karachi violence, 19 more killed
* Death toll reaches 65 in two days of killing spree
* Seven vehicles, office of political party set ablaze
By Atif Raza
KARACHI: The unabated violence continued on the third consecutive day on Friday as 19 more people, including a PPP activist, fell prey to the spate of targeted killings on ethnic ground, while seven vehicles and the office of a political party were set ablaze. Death toll has reached 65 in two days of violence.
According to details, the intensity of ethnic violence remained unabated in old city areas, including Shershah, Pak Colony, Old Golimar and others on the third consecutive day where all commercial and social activities came to a standstill.
A 40-year-old man was killed in a drive-by shooting at Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Block-4, in Gulshan police limits. Police said the victim, who was identified as Sharif Gabol, was an active worker of the PPP. They said the victim received three shots and succumbed to his injures on the spot. The body was shifted to JPMC for an autopsy.
Two more people, Mobin Ahmed Ali, 42, and Azhar Baloch, fell prey to the spate of targeted killings in PIB Colony police station limits. Police said both the victims were shifted to JPMC where they succumbed to their injuries. SHO Zulfiqar Bhangwar said that one of the victims appeared to be a Baloch while other was Urdu-speaking.
Four bullet-riddled bodies stuffed in gunny bags were found at Bakra Piri area in the precincts of Pak Colony police station. Police said all the four victims were kidnapped before they were tortured and murdered as hands and legs of all the victims were roped. They said that one of them was identified as 24-year-old Rizwan alias Babu, a resident of Nazimabad area.
A strangled body of a youth was found near Kharadar Hospital in the limits of Baghdadi police station while a body was recovered from Maripur Road in Jackson police jurisdiction.
Hosh Muhammad, 24, was gunned down at Gulshan Iqbal. Police said the victim, who was targeted at Block-5 of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, appeared to be Sindhi. An activist of Sunni Tehreek, Bilal Qadri alias Sabir, was killed while his two brothers Kaleem and Ejaz sustained bullet wounds in an armed attack at sector 11-G in the limits of New Karachi Industrial Area police.
Police said that unidentified armed riders sprayed Bilal with bullets when he was standing outside his house along with his two brothers. They said that Bilal succumbed to his injuries on the way to hospital. Two more people, Anwar Ali, 28, and Sheharyar, 20, were killed in a drive-by shooting at Shireen Jinnah Colony in Jackson police limits while 33-year-old Rasool Bukhsh was shot dead at Orangi Town near Qatar Hospital.
Police said that the victim was a PPP activist. The victim’s family staged a protest in Orangi Town Sector 7-C and demanded the government arrest the culprits involved in the killing. Separately, two men, Amjad son of Saeed, and Hashim son of Asif, were shot dead near Eidgah Ground Nazimabad in the precincts of Shamim Shaheed Checkpost.
An armed clash between two groups in Chakra Goth Korangi claimed the lives of Mohammad Hassan and an unidentified 22-year-old while six other injured in the clash were identified as Raees Khan, Rizwan, Sabir, Sikander, Nadeem Akhter, Kashif and Hassan Chandio.
Unidentified miscreants set ablaze three trucks, one bus, two cars and one motorcycle and burnt the office of a nationalist party.
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100 target killers arrested, claims Home Minister
M A Hafeez ----> Aug 20th, 2011 // No Comment
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Karachi:Sindh Home Minister Manzoor wasan said on Saturday that 100 target killers were arrested in Karachi and a comprehensive plan was being chalked out to protect lives of citizens.
H said terrorist, involved in target killing would be exposed and compensation would also be given to victims.
Talking to media after offering funeral prayers of three slain elite police commandos whose vehicle was ambushed in Korangi, the home minister said that he was proud of sacrifices rendered by police in line with their duty.
He said that three police officials were killed and 29 others injured while six of the wounded were in critical condition. He also announced compensation for for the families of slain officials Rs.200,0000 each, while Rs.300,000 will be given to injured.
Speaking on the occasion, IG police said that police was interrogating the accused held in connection with the attack on police commandos.
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A paramilitary soldier stands guard during a first aid rehearsal being carried out by the Pakistani Rangers in Karachi August 19, 2011. PHOTO: REUTERS
KARACHI: Five people were killed, including a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) employee, overnight as violence continued in parts of Karachi, Express 24/7 reported on Saturday.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said high value targets responsible for violence in Karachi had been arrested overnight.
Malik said a targeted operation had been carried out in some areas and that no one would be allowed to sabotage peace in the city.
He said Korangi was the most restive area in the city, and praised police for their services.
(Read: Cycle of violence:Mr. Rehman Malik meet Karachi’s wives and girlfriends)
The interior minister also sought the cooperation of political parties to bring peace in Karachi.
Monetary compensation for attack victims
At the funeral ceremony of three police commandos, Sindh Home Minster Manzoor Wassan said that monetary compensation will be provided to the families of the policemen who lost their lives in last night’s attack.
The home minister claimed that over 100 target killers had been arrested in Karachi.
Wassan also admitted that criminal elements in the city have political affiliations.
Inspector General of Police (IG) Sindh Wajid Durrani said two people had been caught red-handed from a crime scene and were currently being interrogated.
He said 18 people who had been kidnapped from different parts of the city had also been recovered.
Ambush on police in Korangi
Earlier on Friday, a van of police commandos was ambushed by gunmen in Korangi, sparking gun battles in which four officers were killed and more than 30 others wounded, officials said.
(Read: Day three of violence: 27 more fall while political heads talk)
“These policemen were in a van going on a raid on a tip-off when they were intercepted by armed men who started firing, injuring many policemen,” senior police official Shaukat Hussain told AFP.
“The police returned fire and at least one attacker was killed.” Television footage showed injured policemen being carried by their comrades and local residents into ambulances and private vehicles heading to hospital.
“Our hospital has received 32 injured policemen, four of whom are critically injured. They all have gunshot wounds,” said Seemin Jamali, spokeswoman for the Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre.
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Defending militancy: Why they kill civilians, attack the state
By Saba Imtiaz
Published: August 20, 2011
An audio recording of a militant explains the motives and ideologies that lead them to engage in terrorist activities to destabilise the state.
KARACHI:
An audio recording explaining why militants attack the state, military and civilians and engage in kidnappings and bank robberies has recently surfaced online.
The conversation is described as being between Harkat-e-Islami Uzbekistan’s Mufti Abuzar Hifzullah and an unnamed religious scholar reportedly employed by the Army. A website states that the conversation took place via a ‘wireless set’ in Shaktoi, South Waziristan.
Hifzullah could refer to Mufti Abuzar Khanjari, who BBC has reported as being part of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi’s Qari Zafar group.
The two discuss issues such as the destruction of mosques, legality of killing civilians and accepting US aid.
Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Major-General Athar Abbas said he was unaware of any such recording. As far as the presence of religious scholars or clerics with military units is concerned, Abbas said, “I don’t know how you would define a cleric, but the military has chaplains who are part of each unit. They are non-combatants, so they remain part of the base camp. They give sermons, but these are authorised, vetted and provided by the army. The chaplains are supervised by the commanding officer and do not do anything that is not in line with what he says.”
The audio cannot be independently verified, since the individuals do not name themselves and there is no time frame available for when the audio was recorded.
The recording begins with a discussion of the 2007 military operation at Lal Masjid, after which there was a surge in suicide attacks. The military scholar questions the existence of arms in Lal Masjid and asks why militants now attack mosques.
Hifzullah justifies this by saying that killing ‘munafiq’ [hypocrites] in mosques is legitimate, as is killing religious scholars – or anyone else – who does not agree with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan’s stance.
The conversation is an interesting insight into how militants and the army use religion to justify their work. Religious texts are cited by the men, albeit with very different interpretations.
The men debate accepting US aid. Hifzullah says it is a sin to take aid from infidels [referring to the US] to kill Muslims, which the military scholar challenges with the assertion that militants took American aid to fight in Afghanistan in the 1980s, which Hifzullah accepts. However, his justification is that it is permissible to take aid from non-believers if it does not “harm Islam and Shariat”.
The scholar challenges Hifzullah, saying that the military works for its lawful salary and does not take money from anyone.
According to Hifzullah, robbing banks is ‘legal’ and their ‘right’ because it is ‘maal-e-ghanimat’ [spoils of war]. Hifzullah says they attack banks which have government accounts. “Emptying Pakistani banks is jihad … the money has been earned by selling our fighters,” [likely referring to people handed over to US custody after 9/11]. He also defends kidnapping people for ransom; but says they do not kidnap minors.
The scholar asks how many Pakistanis have been killed compared to Americans. Hifzullah’s reply is that killing Pakistani officers is the same as killing Americans, as they consider them as one.
The scholar repeatedly brings up attacks on civilians, such as those in Lahore’s Moon Market and the December 2007 attack in Kamra on a Pakistan Aeronautical Complex bus that was transporting the children of air force employees. He asks why militants attack women and children, when doing so is forbidden in Islam.
Hifzullah says these ‘children’ were older and their deaths were a consequence of the militants’ campaign against the armed forces. “It is a military school; children also die when you are killing adults.”
Hifzullah thanks God for the 2005 earthquake which “killed thousands of military personnel”.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2011.
Pakistani policemen carry a coffin of a colleague killed in an overnight ambush by gunmen during a funeral ceremony in Karachi on 20, 2011. Ethnic and criminal violence blamed on gangs has killed 65 people in Pakistan's financial capital of Karachi, with police the latest victims shot dead in a brazen ambush, officials said. Gunmen ambushed police late on August 19, sparking gunbattles in which four officers were killed and more than 30 others wounded, officials said. PHOTO: AFP
Pakistani policemen carry a coffin of a colleague killed in an overnight ambush by gunmen during a funeral ceremony in Karachi on 20, 2011. Ethnic and criminal violence blamed on gangs has killed 65 people in Pakistan's financial capital of Karachi, with police the latest victims shot dead in a brazen ambush, officials said. Gunmen ambushed police late on August 19, sparking gunbattles in which four officers were killed and more than 30 others wounded, officials said. PHOTO: AFP A paramilitary soldier stands guard during a first aid rehearsal being carried out by the Pakistani Rangers in Karachi August 19, 2011. PHOTO: REUTERS
KARACHI: Five people were killed, including a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) employee, overnight as violence continued in parts of Karachi, Express 24/7 reported on Saturday.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said high value targets responsible for violence in Karachi had been arrested overnight.
Malik said a targeted operation had been carried out in some areas and that no one would be allowed to sabotage peace in the city.
He said Korangi was the most restive area in the city, and praised police for their services.
(Read: Cycle of violence:Mr. Rehman Malik meet Karachi’s wives and girlfriends)
The interior minister also sought the cooperation of political parties to bring peace in Karachi.
Monetary compensation for attack victims
At the funeral ceremony of three police commandos, Sindh Home Minster Manzoor Wassan said that monetary compensation will be provided to the families of the policemen who lost their lives in last night’s attack.
The home minister claimed that over 100 target killers had been arrested in Karachi.
Wassan also admitted that criminal elements in the city have political affiliations.
Inspector General of Police (IG) Sindh Wajid Durrani said two people had been caught red-handed from a crime scene and were currently being interrogated.
He said 18 people who had been kidnapped from different parts of the city had also been recovered.
Ambush on police in Korangi
Earlier on Friday, a van of police commandos was ambushed by gunmen in Korangi, sparking gun battles in which four officers were killed and more than 30 others wounded, officials said.
(Read: Day three of violence: 27 more fall while political heads talk)
“These policemen were in a van going on a raid on a tip-off when they were intercepted by armed men who started firing, injuring many policemen,” senior police official Shaukat Hussain told AFP.
“The police returned fire and at least one attacker was killed.” Television footage showed injured policemen being carried by their comrades and local residents into ambulances and private vehicles heading to hospital.
“Our hospital has received 32 injured policemen, four of whom are critically injured. They all have gunshot wounds,” said Seemin Jamali, spokeswoman for the Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre
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Three political activists of ‘police van attack’ arrested
Saeed Abbasi ----> Aug 20th, 2011 // No Comment
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Karachi: Police have arrested three, accused associated with a political party, were involved in the attack on police party in Chakra Goth, Korangi, that killed at least six police commandos, police sources said.
According to the sources, out of the three accused, one was a sector in-charge of a political party while two others were his aides, The News Tribe Correspondent reported.
The sources further informed that the accused were arrested from Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) in injured condition.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik during his visit to JPMC, said that police have arrested an accused namely Mubashir Bengali, was activist of a political party, but some people disliked his arrest.
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Altaf reveals real reasons for Karachi troubles
Shaheen Sehbai
Saturday, August 20, 2011
DUBAI: The MQM accusations against the FIA and Intelligence Bureau, both organisations totally under the control of President Asif Ali Zardari, that the British government had been fed with unfounded reports against the MQM, has exposed a new dimension of PPP-MQM relations and it is now obvious that the PPP has been using the UK government to pressurise Altaf Hussain to fall in line.
These accusations, seen in the context of the statement of Altaf Hussain some days ago asking Karachiites to stock up rations for 30 days, which was followed immediately by intervention of the London government, including a call from the UK foreign secretary to MQM’s governor of Sindh, explain why the MQM chief suddenly started speaking English to apologise for his call and tried to control the damage caused by his remarks.
Now it has been revealed that the UK government was not working on its own but it was Zardari’s intelligence outfits that were feeding London some cock and bull, or whatever, stories and these reports were used to pressurise Altaf Hussain, a British citizen, to change track fast so that the Zardari outfit in Pakistan was not disturbed.
Whatever comes out of the so-called “inquiry” that has been ordered by President Zardari into the allegations of Altaf Hussain is not clear but it can be easily said that nothing will come out as no official of the FIA or IB can have the courage and guts to send reports against an ally of the PPP, which has tremendous political and nuisance value, to any foreign government.
So what can be safely assumed is that these reports were sent with the specific authorisation of the PPP high-ups, specifically the president, as he controls all political matters. Now that Altaf has publicly complained and told the nation that the UK government had used these reports to pressurise him, Zardari is on the backfoot and trying to cover up the matter by ordering a probe which will go nowhere.
But that may have been a demand by Mr Hussain himself, from President Zardari, as he needs a face-saving cover-up to hush up(Keep from public knowledge, suppress mention of.) the matter out of public eye at the moment, specially when he is about to announce his umpteenth comeback into the Sindh coalition government.
Yet it is evident that matters between the PPP and MQM are not that simple. Even if the MQM returns to the government, as it would, the relationship of trust and confidence between the two partners would never be established and it would be another phase of marriage of convenience that both the parties need to satisfy their constituents, at least publicly.
It is being reported that the warring gangs belonging to all the parties, including the PPP, MQM and ANP, already have a “bank” of hostages in Karachi, people who have been kidnapped and are slaughtered or killed, bagged and “presented” to the other party as a tit-for-tat response, and this turf war is not going to end, whether the MQM enters the coalition or not.
Thus the Karachi situation is a cooked up affair, a political war of nerves which is being played out between the government coalition partners but in the process the entire city has been paralysed and the economy of the country held hostage.
In this context when Interior Minister Rehman Malik claims that target killings will stop at 2am in the morning, it becomes obvious that either he has control over the triggers or he is just bluffing. Either way, the result is negative for the PPP.
Meanwhile, Karachi is bleeding and now the business community, along with the ANP and MQM in the past, has demanded that the Army should be called out to control the situation.
What this means is that the Army would again be dragged into politics. The first casualty of an Army decision, yes an Army decision to intervene, would be the PPP government. If that happens, it would be natural that the next mission of the Army would be to stop the free fall of the economy and that would entail a virtual or physical takeover of the government.
The PPP will thus never agree to an Army intervention in Karachi but it is also not willing to surrender Karachi to the MQM. The fight thus goes on and it all depends on how the super decision makers of the PPP handle the situation, which obviously is getting out of their hands fast.
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ALERT
Seven named in Korangi police van attack case
Mikael ----> Aug 21st, 2011 // No Comment
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Karachi: The case of firing at a bus carrying police commandos in Chakra Goth of Korangi on Friday evening has been registered, said police sources. Around 50 police officials in plain clothes were traveling in a van when terrorists opened fire on them, which killed six policemen and injured 28 others.
The people named in the case number 437/2011 are Abu Bashar Bengali, Farhan, Sohail Commando, Kamran Madhuri, Shahid Burger and Shahid Chaman.
Shahid Burger and Shahid Chaman were killed in the retaliatory firing of police. Kamran and Sohail are admitted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
Police chief Saud Mirza said the policemen attacked were part of the elite force who were going under the leadership of DSP Badar Shah. He told reporters that they were going to Chakra Goth where two people were killed and five injured in a clash between two armed groups.
On the other hand, a man has registered a case in Awami Colony Police Station, saying that his brother killed on Friday was a victim of firing of unknown men and that he was not killed in any encounter with police.
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