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KARACHI, Aug 3: Scores of Pakistan People’s Party workers on Friday afternoon assembled outside the Karachi Press Club to protest against the ongoing gang war in Lyari Town.
Holding party flags and banners they raised slogans against the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the local police, and blamed them for protecting criminal elements in the locality.
Later, speaking at a rally PPP leaders accused the MQM and the provincial government of hatching conspiracies against the party in its traditional stronghold.
They alleged that criminal gangs comprising youths had been organised under a systematic plan by the police and were pitted against each other.
They said that during the last four to five years several youths had been killed but the government had played no role in controlling the situation.
The PPP leaders said that the situation was turning from bad to worse. There has been no let-up in the incidents of lawlessness in the locality, which was forcing people to migrate to other areas.
They warned the rulers that times have changed and the people of Lyari would not allow their sinister designs to succeed.
They warned the police officials to desist from conspiracies against the party as they would be made accountable when the PPP would come to power.
A handbill was also distributed. It charged that an ASI of the Baghdadi Police Station was masterminding the gang war in the Shah Beg Lane Union Council area. The handbill condemned the attack on the office and residence of UC-6 nazim Abdul Majid. The ASI was blamed for organising the attack.
The rally was addressed by PPP leaders MNA Nabil Gabol, MPAs Rafiq Engineer and Salim Hingro, PPP Karachi President Rashid Rabbani and PPP South President Qasim Baloch.
Meanwhile, the residents of Shah Beg Lane and Baghdadi have expressed concern over the deteriorating crime situation in their locality, saying that armed gangs roam the streets and snatch wallets and mobiles from people at will.
They called for the deployment of the Rangers at the vital points of Shah Beg Lane and Baghdadi. They said relative calm had prevailed in the locality when the Rangers had been deployed some time ago, but the peace could not last long and the criminals were active again.
A survey of the locality shows that the ongoing gang war has created a sense of dread and widespread panic in the area residents.
A visit to the affected areas shows that violence and repeated killings have marred the public peace to the extent that schoolchildren are refusing to attend their classes. An area schoolteacher admitted that the number of students skipping school increased whenever a shooting incident occurred.
A few traders in Baghdadi have closed their shops because they were forced to pay extortion money.
Most of the affected families questioned why the law enforcement agencies could not control a small bunch of criminals who had taken the whole locality hostage.
A community leader said so far there had been no violent reaction to the killings, but he feared things could take a turn for the worst if the situation was not dealt with forthwith.
