KARACHI: Some parts of the city once again descended into violence on Tuesday when at least six people, including two political activists, were gunned down and some private property was damaged in arson attacks.
The fresh killings and subsequent arson attacks mainly in Orangi were carried out at a time when the new police set-up started functioning in the city following the Monday notification of the new police officers of the five districts.
Police said that trouble started when a 25-year-old activist of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Mohammad Noman, was wounded in firing in the Gulfamabad area within the remit of the Orangi Town police station.
“He was rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds during treatment,” said an official.
Shortly afterwards, gunfire was heard in many localities of Orangi, causing fear and tension among residents. Shops were immediately closed in the strife-hit locality.
In Aligarh Colony, armed men fired at a fruit seller, later identified as Dervesh Khan, 18, the police said. They added that the victim died before he could be shifted to hospital.
Three pedestrians, Shahid Hasan, Sher Khan and a 10-year-old girl, Shazia, were also wounded in a firing incident. They were rushed to the Qatar Hospital and Abbasi Shaheed for treatment, the police said.
According to the police, neither the fruit vendor nor any of the pedestrians were associated with any political party.
There were also reports of arson attacks in Sector 1-D where unidentified persons intercepted a truck (JT-1710) and set it on fire. A shop selling threads was also set ablaze in the locality.
“The truck was partially burnt as the fire brigade put out the fire,” said the newly posted SP Site (west) Shah Jehan. However, he said that no shop was burnt in the area.
The SP claimed that a heavy police contingent was sent to stem violence in the area. The law-enforcers patrolled the streets for fours hours, he added.
However, he said, the police could not make any arrests at the troubled spots. Earlier in the morning, the body of a man was found in a gunny bag in Faqeer Colony, police said.
They added the victim was later identified as Malik Yaqoob, a resident of Ittehad Town.
“Yaqoob came to visit his mother’s house in Orangi Town where he was kidnapped in the late hours of Monday,” said an official of the Mominabad police station.
He said the body found in the gunny bag in the morning bore torture marks. The police said that they were not sure about the motive behind the killing and his political affiliation.
ST activist shot dead
In New Karachi, an activist of Sunni Tehreek was shot dead in the early hours of Tuesday, the area police said.
The officials added that Ahmed Raza, 30, was targeted while he was returning home in Khawaja Ajmair Nagri after closing down his cellphone shop, situated near UP Morr in Sector 11-D.
“Raza was travelling in an auto-rickshaw when armed suspects targeted him,” said an official of the New Karachi police station.The official said that the victim suffered gunshot wounds and was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities.
Earlier, a young man was killed in Baldia Town, the police said.
“Azizur Rehman, 26, was returning home, situated in Ittehad Town, on a motorcycle when gunmen targeted him,” said a duty officer at the Moachko police station.
The victim suffered a fatal bullet wound in the head and died on the spot, the official said.
He said that the victim hailed from Swat. The victim’s brother, Amirur Rehman, lodged an FIR (279/2011) at the police station against unidentified attackers under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Meanwhile, two youngsters who were shot at by gunmen within the remit of the Sharea Faisal police station late Monday night died during treatment at a hospital on Tuesday, the police said.
The officials said that Bilal Husain, 18, and Ghulam Mujtaba, 20, were going from Rabia City to Pehlawn Goth on their motorbike after obtaining cell phone credit when armed men riding a motorbike opened fire on them and fled.
However, the police were not sure about the number of attackers.
The two wounded men were rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre where they died during treatment on Tuesday. Sharea Faisal SHO Ibrar Butt said that the youngsters were jobless and were not associated with any political party.
He said that the killing seemed to be a result of some personal enmity. The FIR of the incident had not been registered by the police till filing of this report on Tuesday night.
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