KARACHI, Feb 13: The ongoing gang-war between two crime mafias in Layari has created a natural dread of meeting death by violence among the town's residents, which is turning into a widespread panic , being intensified by frequent incidence of aerial firing at midnight.

A study of the terror-stricken areas shows that violence and killings have marred the public peace to the extent that even schoolchildren have started refusing to attend their classes due to the fear.

A school teacher of an affected locality in the area admitted that the number of absent students registered an increase whenever a shooting incident occurred. The teacher said parents in the affected areas complained that they had been finding it hard to persuade children to go to schools.

He was of the view that the pace of restoring normalcy to the area depended on the efficiency of law-enforcement agencies in nabbing the criminal elements and solving the mysteries of brutal killings, including that of a Baloch leader.

A community leader said so far there had been no violent reaction of these killings, but he apprehended that the situation could invoke extreme reaction resulting into a turmoil, if effective steps were not taken to crush the crime mafias.

He was of the view that it was time for authorities to think over the issue in a broader perspective, as the recurrence of incidents of violent murders in the same area might incite an already agitated populace, lacking basic facilities, against the law-enforcement agencies.

Although the heightened feelings of anger and fear have so far been limited to certain parts of the town, but these could spread to other parts also, causing a large-scale unrest, he added.

In the absence of any organized political activity, all sorts of wild rumours, including those pertaining to shifting of Baloch populace living along the Karachi coast and Lyari River are also gaining currency.

The government has already started construction of an Expressway along Lyari River, which would be ultimately linked with the Mekran Coastal Highway. Under the Expressway plan, the government has declared its intention to demolish a century-old Baloch settlement situated on the river bank, further supporting the views of rumour-mongers.

A senior political worker of the locality said: "It is now clear that by the time the Expressway and Northern By-pass projects will be completed, the demography of the locality would also change, and the Baloch population would be either reduced to minority, or forced to migrate to new areas."

There could be some truth in these claims, or they might be mere figments of frightened, overworked imagination, but these could get credence amid reports of shifting of Baloch populace from old Gwadar town, where the government plans to build a container yard along the port area. However, clear proof is necessary before expecting this claim to be believed.