November 05, 2008	Wednesday	Ziqa'ad 6, 1429

KARACHI, Nov 4: Most parts of Lyari remained tense on Tuesday in the aftermath of the killing of a Baloch leader, Zahid Husain Baloch, who was attacked by two unidentified men on Saturday in old Golimar.

However, it has not been ascertained so far whether the killing was a politically-motivated one or part of the ongoing gang warfare in Lyari.

On Tuesday, shops, markets and bazaars remained closed in most parts of Lyari as a mark of protest against the murder and to mourn the death of the city chief of the Balochistan National Party.

Nawalane, Kalakot, Singo Lane, Rangiwara, Baghdadi and many other localities looked deserted with armed men strolling the congested streets. Mostly people stayed inside their homes, while public transport remained off the road in some areas. Barricades were placed at Aath Chowk in Chakiwara to stop the movement of vehicular traffic. Angry protesters pelted vehicles with stones in different areas.

Panic and terror also gripped parts of Shah Beg Lane and Baghdadi due to intermittent firing as parents called back their children from schools.

A school teacher of an affected area said: “It was hard to persuade the terrorised parents not to take back their children from classes.”

Zahid Husain’s was the fourth in the series of killings of Baloch leaders in Karachi over the last few years. Last year in August, Baloch Ittehad Tehrik’s General Secretary Sorab Baloch was killed in Lyari. Earlier, PPP leader Abdullah Murad Baloch and BIT leader Anwar Bhai Jan were killed in March 2004 and January 2005, respectively.

Police have failed to arrest the killers so far, while many Baloch activists believed that all the murders were politically-motivated.

A community leader talking to Dawn said that there had been no violent reaction against the killings so far. But he apprehended that the situation could invoke extreme reaction if effective steps were not taken to control the law and order situation.