October 5, 2003	Sunday	Sha’aban 8, 1424

KARACHI, Oct 4: Hundreds of mourners, carrying the coffin of Hashim Raza, one of the victims of the Friday’s shooting incident, turned violent on Saturday and torched many vehicles and a traffic police kiosk. They also attacked and caused damage to petrol pumps and signboards on their way to a graveyard in North Karachi.

The funeral procession started after Hashim Raza’s Namaz-i-Janaza in Rizvia imambargah after Zuhr prayers and the participants marched towards North Karachi’s graveyard.

Markets, shops and other business concerns along the procession route were closed as a precautionary measure and heavy contingent of police and Rangers was deployed. A considerable number of law-enforcement personnel marched with the procession.

The mourners were chanting slogans against the government for its failure in providing security to innocent citizens. The procession turned violent while passing through Nazimabad No 7, near the office of the Board of Secondary Education, and the situation aggravated when the participants started pelting the law-enforcement personnel with stones. They also caused damage to signboards on shops and offices in the locality and a petrol pump located in front of the board office. Some of the processionists lit bonfire at the intersection in the same locality.

Fire Brigade sources said that during the agitation, people set on fire a car, a taxi, a bus, an oil tanker, a motorbike and a traffic police kiosk between the intersection and the board office building.

The bus, the sources added, was saved from complete destruction but all the other vehicles gutted and the kiosk, near the board office, was badly damaged.

However, police sources said that nine motorcycles and a scooter were set on fire besides other vehicles.

Another petrol pump, near Inquiry Office, also came under the mourners attack during which, apart from the station, dozens of vehicles were damaged.

Police and Rangers fired teargas shells and carried out baton-charge on the processionists to bring the situation under control. Later, the procession resumed its march.

At Sakhi Hassan roundabout, the processionists attacked a bus which was packed to its capacity and even carrying passengers atop its roof. Due to the intensity of stone-pelting, the bus driver got panicked and tried to drive the vehicle in reverse gear. However, he lost control of the bus which overturned. Several people trapped inside suffered injuries.

Finally, the procession reached the graveyard where Hashim Raza’s body was laid to rest and the mourners dispersed.

Earlier, Namaz-i-Janaza of Wasiul Hasan, another victim of the same incident, was offered in the morning and he was laid to rest in a Malir graveyard. The bodies of Raza Ali, Rafiq Shahid and Athar Ali were sent to Gilgit, Bahawalpur and Multan respectively, for last rites.

Namaz-i-Janaza of Mohammad Qasim was held at a mosque in Korangi and his body was laid to rest in a local graveyard late Friday.

To ensure peace along the procession route, police had closed the main road from Rizvia to North Karachi, that included access roads in Nazimabad, North Nazimabad, Nagan Chowrangi and UP Morr, for vehicular movement. The traffic was diverted to alternative routes which caused jams at various places in other areas also.

Certain roads leading to Nazimabad, North Nazimabad and North Karachi were also closed. The traffic flow in Liaquatabad was badly affected as movement towards Nazimabad was not allowed. After heavy jams in Liaquatabad, the traffic from Karimabad was diverted to Gharibabad and Gulshan-i-Iqbal.

The traffic remained disturbed from noon and situation started improving in the evening when police removed the temporary barriers.