KARACHI: PPP, other parties stunned by looting spree in Lyari
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Dec 30: Local leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party and other opposition political and religious entities functioning in Lyari Town have dissociated themselves from the activities of those indulged in sabotage and looting since Thursday evening in the garb of “mourners”, and accused the pro-government elements and agencies of fomenting violence.
Political figures and prominent social workers in Lyari said that these elements were capitalising on the charged atmosphere and violent reaction to the assassination of the PPP chairperson by resorting to looting and plunder. They argued that most of the active PPP workers and supporters had either left the city for Larkana, Naudero or Garhi Khuda Bukhsh to pay last respect to their leader while those at home appeared devastated by her tragic death and could not be expected to think of indulging themselves in the looting.
“The government has police, Rangers and army at its disposal but it is not understandable why didn’t it intervene to check the gangsters who have been on a looting spree and unbridled arson since Thursday evening,” said Mr Nasir Karim Baloch, a diehard PPP activist overwhelmed by grief over Ms Bhutto’s death.
Many other activists gathered at PPP offices in different localities of the town expressed the same views. They believed that supporters of certain parties still enjoying patronage of the caretaker government might have been fomenting both the rampage and looting to defame the PPP and make political mileage.
They pointed out that businessmen community, including traders and shopkeepers, across the country had closed their business as mark of respect soon after getting the news of Ms Bhutto’s assassination even though no such appeal had been made by the party. Nor had there been any gunrunning to terrorize people in order to force them pull down shutters, they added.
They noted that while the Rangers had arrived in the disturbed localities almost 48 hours after the town had virtually been taken over by the criminal gangs, police never intervened to check the violence and looting until the gangsters completed their job.
The localities of Lea Market, Singoo Lane and industrial area were among the worst hit where armed and unarmed criminals attacked each and every shop, store godown and factory on their way and took away whatever they could before setting several of them on fire. To keep the law-enforcement agency away, they torched moving and stationary vehicles on fire to block roads in an organized manner, they observed.
Rivals in agreement
Groups of activists belonging to JUP, ST, JI, JUI and some smaller political groups active were seen discussing the assassination and the ensuing developments in different parts of the town. While expressing their deep sense of grief and sympathies with PPP cadre, particularly the Bhutto family, they were severely criticizing the police and administration for failing to prevent the widespread violence and plunder.
“It seemed that criminals had been given a free hand to take away any thing they want by breaking into any private property,” an ST activist remarked with reference to the violent activities on Thursday and Friday.
Most of the activists of these parties said that they preferred to remain indoors and suspend their political and election activities during the mourning days in view of the disturbed situation. “Police and other agencies may have encouraged the criminals as the violence had already been attributed to the PPP supporters,” a JUP activist said.
A leader of the Baloch Ittehad Tehrik (BIT) said that a distressed factory-owner had sought his organization’s help after police did not respond to his call for protection against the saboteurs. However, the BIT leader said, his organization was not in a position to help the factory-owner under the prevailing situation.
Food and fuel shortage
Social workers active in almost all areas of Lyari Town said they remained helpless in a situation where hundreds of low-income group families were facing an acute shortage of food and other essential items. Even after violence subsided to some extent on Sunday, most stores had either been plundered or run out of stocks, they added.
They called for immediate steps by the government to ensure peace and safe passage to supply vehicles to bring an end to the shortage of essential commodities.
They pointed out that most petrol pumps in the town had been lying closed since Thursday evening and a number of them destroyed in attacks or by fire.
