KARACHI, Sept 22: As the polling date for the general elections draws closer, incidents of political violence is showing a rising trend.
So far two political activists have been killed besides several incidents of attack on election offices of political parties have also taken place. Several police cases have been registered against candidates and political workers.
Contestants have even lodged FIRs against one another for alleged petty crimes like theft of wristwatches and bicycles, etc.
On Sept 10, a political activist was killed and two others were injured, one of them seriously, in firing during a clash in Muslimabad, Manghopir. The dead and injured were from the PPP (SB). This was the first election-related fatality.
Police said that PPP (SB) workers were hoisting their party flags in a locality near Rexer Lane over which a clash occurred and they were fire at. Jawwad, aged 25, was killed in the firing and Altaf and Mohammed Usman were injured. The injured were admitted to Civil Hospital. It is not known which was the other party involved in the clash.
In what appeared to be another incident of political violence, a young worker of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Farooq Sarbazi, was shot and wounded by unidentified men in Chakiwara, Lyari, on the early morning of Sept 15. He died the next day at Civil Hospital.
Police said that unidentified men opened fire on Sarbazi when he was returning home. He was shot at near his house.
He was rushed to Civil Hospital where he was operated upon. He had received a bullet in his abdomen which had badly damaged one of his kidneys. Doctors had to remove the damaged kidney to save his life. After the major surgery, he was kept in an Intensive Care Unit where he died.
The Muttahida condemned the killing of its worker and demanded the arrest of the culprits. However, the Town Police Officer of Lyari, Swaleh Mohammed, said: “It was not a political matter.” Sarbazi was shot and wounded outside his house. His brother Dr Rafiq Sarbazi got an FIR registered at the area police station. The TPO further said that the killing might have been an outcome of personal enmity.
On Sept 19, the Joharabad police registered an FIR against Khalid Shahanshah, the candidate of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians from NA-246, on the complaint of Mohammed Shafi. Besides, an area resident lodged an FIR against the candidate accusing him of snatching Rs15,000 and his wristwatch in Azizabad.
Meanwhile, the two rival groups — the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Mohajir Qaumi Movement — are accusing each other of sabotaging their election campaigns by removing election symbols, camps and threats to candidates.
Tensions between the two groups prevail in parts of Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal and some other areas of the city.
In Gulistan-i-Jauhar the two parties have traded fire over installing party symbols.
On Sept 13, six male and 12 female workers of the PPP were arrested for breach of peace. They had gathered outside the Sindh High Court before the announcement of judgment on election appeals of the PPP Chairperson, Benazir Bhutto.
They were barred from entering the court building and later were not even allowed to enter the court premises.
The arrested workers were taken to Artillery Maidan police station where an FIR, under sections 147/148 of PPC, was registered against Nasreen Chandio, Saira Baloch, Muneer Fatima, Nazreena, Saeeda Barq, Mehrunnisa, Shehnaz, Farzana, Shazia, Gul Saba, Zaitoon, Noorunnisa, Azizur Rahman, Mohammed Ameer Gabol, Mohammed Akram Gondal, Mushtaq, Faquira and Zareef.
On Sept 19, activists of the Sunni Tehreek opened fire on Muttahida candidates for the National Assembly and the Sindh Provincial Assembly in Sitara Market, Ranchhore Lines. No injury was reported in the incident.
The Nabi Bux police registered an FIR on a complaint lodged by Abdul Qadir Lakhani who was also attacked. Police said that the complainant told them that he and Dr Amir Liaquat were returning home after hearing a speech of the party leader, Altaf Husain, in Arambagh.
Mr Lakhani told police that activists of the Sunni Tehreek were removing Muttahida’s flags and tearing them. When Muttahida leaders requested them not to do so, ST workers opened fire.
The ST activists named in the FIR are, among others, Abdul Ghani, Khanani, Danish, Iftikhar Bhatti, Asif Raza and others.
On the same night two workers of the Muttahida were kidnapped by members of its rival party at their election office in Khokhrapar, Malir.
Candidates contesting for NA-252 lodged FIRs against workers of rival parties at Gulshan-i-Iqbal police station on Sept 18.
A candidate of the Muttahida, Dr Fahimuddin, lodged an FIR (786/2002) against five workers of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement for removing party flags and banners and manhandling workers of the rival party.
Nazeer Ibrahim, a candidate of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement from the same constituency, lodged a similar FIR (787/2002) against workers of the rival party.
Muttahida workers were beaten up by workers of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) at the election office of the former in Federal B-Area’s Block 10 on the night of Sept 12.
Later, MQM workers lodged an FIR (112/2002) against workers of the MMA at Gulberg police station.
Police registered a case against members of the Islami Jamiat Talaba for creating nuisance and removing flags and banners of the Muttahida in Nazimabad on Sept 21.
The incident occurred at Zubaida Polytechnic Institute. They allegedly removed flags of the Muttahida and posters carrying photographs of the Muttahida chief.
