KARACHI: Dozens hurt as transport workers, police clash: 100 rounded up
By S. Raza Hassan
KARACHI, April 8: Police on Friday rounded up around 100 workers of the Supreme Council of the All Pakistan Transporters and its allied bodies from Shireen Jinnah Colony following hours long clash between transport workers and the police leaving dozens injured.
Property including police vehicles and some tankers were damaged in the violence. A bank and a petrol pump were also damaged in the clash.
Transporters took to the streets and lit bonfires and pelted stones on the passing vehicles at Khayaban-i-Ghalib in front of Dr Ziauddin Medical Hospital. Police responded by heavy teargas shelling and baton charge on the mob.
CCPO Tariq Jameel told Dawn that the trouble started when a faction of the oil transports association tried to stop the transportation on a strike call. As they resorted to violence, police took action against them by arresting the miscreants, he said.
Another senior police officer told Dawn that as the transporters were holding a meeting in Shireen Jinnah Colony, they took ASP Civil Lines as hostage, who had gone to ensure security there. Once senior police officers came to know about the hostage taking place, police came into action and secured the release of their ASP.
The transporters pelted stones at the police vehicles. Police lobbed teargas shelling at the mob in order to disperse them. Heavy contingents of police force of the Saddar and neighbouring towns Clifton, Keamari, Baldia were called in to control the situation.
The fire brigade engines could not move into the troubled locality due to the fear that the vehicles might be targeted by the miscreants.
After making arrests, police moved into Shireen Jinnah Colony and conducted a search operation to nab more miscreants hiding in the locality. However, no weapons were recovered during the search operation which was in progress when this report was filed.
The suspects were lodged into different police stations of Keamari, Saddar and Clifton Towns.
Talking to Dawn All Pakistan Transporters’ Supreme Council Chairman Yousaf Shawani held the police responsible for the Friday’s law and order situation and alleged that police was acting on behalf of the Pakistan State Oil to arrest him. He said since the oil pipeline had been commissioned, our 10,000 oil tankers had been become redundant.
“We are on a peaceful strike since last five days and Friday was the sixth day of our protest,” Shawani said.
He said that the Ehtesab Bureau officials had come from Peshawar to Shireen Jinnah Colony on Friday to record the statement of drivers. “As the drivers were busy recording their statements some police officials barged in. We questioned their presence and asked them to leave. After finishing with the recording of statements, we proceeded towards the venue of the public meeting where a heavy police presence was already present. We told the CCPO that we are peaceful and asked him to withdraw the police force. However, police started baton charge when the guard of a nearby bank opened fire in panic. Though nobody was injured with the firing the ASP aggressively took part in the baton charge,” the chairman said.
“Prior to the trouble scene, we had received invitation from the chief secretary’s office for a meeting at his office on Saturday,” he added.
The chairman claimed that the entire Balocistan had gone dry off the fuel supply due to crippling strike and rest of the country was also facing crisis.
