KARACHI, Dec 6: A dispute between two groups over the possession of a mosque near the Jama Cloth Market on Thursday led to a cycle of violence which injured around six people, including a woman, and forced traders to shut down one of the city’s busiest commercial areas. A prayer leader, Mohammad Ismail, was injured and succumbed to his injuries in a related attack.
The Qadeemi Masjid, near Jama Cloth Market in the Risala police limits, emerged as the cause of the bloody clash between two different schools of thought, each of them claiming possession of the mosque for prayers in line with their practices.
“We heard gunshots in the afternoon which forced us to close our shops”, said Sabir Ali, a trader at the Jama Cloth Market. “We didn’t know the reason at the time but later it emerged that it was an old dispute over the Qadeemi Masjid”.
Police sources and eyewitnesses said handing over of the mosque’s possession to a particular school of thought by the government triggered the clash, during which two coaches passing through the area also came under fire.
The Qadeemi Masjid was sealed in September by the government after its possession became disputed due to claims from both sides.
“Handing over of the mosque’s possession was awarded to the Deobandi group after we received an order from the Sindh government’s Auqaf department, which came after a two-month inquiry into the matter ordered by the Sindh High Court”, said SP Saddar Town Capt (retd) Tahir Naveed.He said the police had formally informed the leaders of the two groups about the development the night before the mosque was handed over, but one of them did not accept the Sindh government’s decision.
“They (the rival group) actually opted for agitation and spoiled our every effort to wrap up the issue peacefully. We have increased the mosque’s security and are looking for the miscreants”, the Saddar SP said.
Witnesses said the incident began in the afternoon after members of the group which had won possession of the mosque gathered outside it and were attacked by the rival group with sticks and iron rods.
“But it turned more violent in a few minutes when gunshots were heard nearby”, said another Jama Cloth trader, who preferred to keep his shop closed. “We also found a few empties inside the market while some of the parked vehicles were hit in the firing”.
The firing caused panic among the shoppers and traders in Jama Cloth Market, as some of them left their shops open in a state of fear, which were later properly closed down after the situation turned normal to some extent.
Coaches shot at
Almost 20 minutes after the group attacked its rivals, four armed youths riding on two motorbikes appeared on the scene and fired shots in the air. They later targeted an Abdullah coach passing through M.A. Jinnah Road, which injured Talha, Majid and Qamar-un-Nisa, who were moved to the Civil Hospital for treatment.
Unknown persons also fired shots at another passenger coach, which injured some three people, and later set it on fire near Denso Hall in Kharadar. Police suspected the incident was linked with the clash that had occurred earlier in the day between two groups over the possession of a mosque.
Police sources said a Gul coach was moving towards Tower when unknown armed persons on two motorcycles intercepted it near Denso Hall traffic signal and opened fire.
“They later set the coach on fire, which completely gutted the vehicle”, said a Kharadar police official. “A fire tender reached the spot after a few minutes but it could not prevent the coach from being completely burnt”.
He said though it was not confirmed, there were doubts that the miscreants involved in the clash over the Qadeemi Masjid were also behind the bus fire.
“The number of injured are also not confirmed as we did not find anyone near the spot to trace the clues. But hospital sources say there are two to three persons”, he added.
A Jama Cloth trader also witnessed a police van carrying an injured police officer rushing towards Civil Hospital. The hospital sources also confirmed they received a police inspector with bullet wounds in his leg. The police, however, denied any of their officers was injured.
Dozens of policemen, who were already deployed in the areas around Qadeemi Masjid sensing the sensitivity of the situation, were later joined by a heavy contingent of police and the Rangers a few minutes after the clash began.
However, the episode took more than an hour to cool down after police unleashed tear gas shells to disperse miscreants and a large number of people who had gathered on both sides of the road as spectators.
The Risala police station later arrested two men after lodging an FIR under Sections 147, 148, and 149 for rioting with a deadly weapon. The sections also marked every member of an unlawful assembly guilty of an offence committed in prosecution of (a) common object.
The PPC’s Section 353 has also been included in the charges framed against the unknown miscreants in the FIR for assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty.
Prayer leader killed
A few hours after the incident, the Pesh Imam of Tayyaba Masjid on Chand Bibi road was attacked by armed motorcyclists. Forty-year Mohammad Ismail was standing outside the mosque with area people after Asr prayers when he was attacked.
The victim was the prayer leader in the mosque for the last few years, which belonged to the Deobandi school of thought and was situated a few kilometres away from the point of the first clash.
“We are suspecting the same reason (sectarian clash) behind the attack on the prayer leader”, SP Naveed said. “Actually, the Sunni Tehreek people had closed all options of dialogue to resolve the issue, forcing the police to take action”, he added.
Ismail, who received three bullets in his leg and chest, was rushed to Civil Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Sources said he was going to be taken to Korangi for his last rites.
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.