KARACHI, July 16: Fear returned to parts of Karachi on Saturday when in one district an armed attack on a Kutchhi Rabta Committee (KRC) rally left more than half a dozen people wounded and in another ambush on a car of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader left him dead along with his aide, police and party sources said.

The news of attacks in a Mauripur area of district south and Gulistan-i-Jauhar area of district east sowed fear and panic in the neighbouring areas as traders closed down businesses and road traffic turned thin.

The police authorities stayed helpless in one case amid frequent gunfire in Lyari and old city areas and in the other remained clueless about those involved in the deadly attack on the PPP leader's car.

On Saturday afternoon, hundreds of people, including women and children, emerged on Mauripur Road and started to march towards the CM's House to lodge protest against lawlessness in Lyari. Shortly afterwards the rally came under a gun attack.

The community-based KRC, which had organised the rally, said residents of Khadda Market and Moosa Lane had become fed up with the frequent breakdown of law and order in their localities.

The area police said that heavy firing from an 'unknown direction' left eight people, including a woman, wounded. The victims were shifted to the civil hospital for treatment, the officials said.

“Initially a few shots were fired but we suspect firing intensified after someone tried to retaliate,” said SP Pervez Bhatti of the Lyari Town.

“Definitely it caused panic and fear as there were hundreds of people there but timely action from the police backed by Rangers averted a major damage.”

He said eight people suffered gunshot wounds but none of them was in life-threatening.

The police later identified a few spots from where the armed men had fired, he said, but no arrest had been made so far.

The attack initially forced the demonstrators to run for safety. But the demonstrators reappeared on the main road and chanted slogans against the government and senior members of the Sindh cabinet.

“Entire Lyari and old city areas have been handed over to criminal gangs, who have financial and moral support of people at key positions in the government,” said a spokesman for the KRC.

“Our houses have been taken over and hundreds of families of Moosa Lane, Khadda Market and Kharadar areas have been forced to stay at their relatives' places in Keamari and Malir areas.”

The situation deteriorated further when armed men struck in Gulistan-i-Jauhar and killed Ahmer Anwar, president of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) labour union and senior leader of the PPP.

An area police official said armed riders intercepted the car of Mr Anwar, better known as Amir Shah, near Munawwar Chowrangi and fired multiple shots.

“Amir Shah was sitting along Khalid Jakhrani, who was driving the car when it was attacked. Both sustained multiple bullet wounds and were rushed to a nearby private hospital,” he said. However, he added, “the victims were later moved to another hospital on Stadium Road, where they died during treatment.”

He said the two victims received bullets in the upper torso fired from 9mm pistol from a close range. The police had found nine spent bullet casings from the crime-scene, he added.

Shortly afterwards, gunfire caused traders to pull down shutters.

Waqar Mehdi, adviser to the chief minister, said that 42-year-old Amir Shah was also former president of People's Youth Forum and currently looking after the PIA labour union.

“We don't see any personal enmity behind the deadly attack. Both victims were senior party members and there is no reason other than their political association behind their killings,” he added.

Teenagers' bodies found

The bodies of two teenage friends were found in gunny bags near Timber Market on Saturday, police said.

“Both victims looked young and were probably killed a couple hours before their bodies were found,” said an official at the Napier police station.

The bodies bearing gunshot wounds and torture marks were shifted to the civil hospital where they were identified as 18-year-old Tabrez Ayub and his 19-year-old classmate, Feroze Akbar. “The victims were residents of Metroville in the SITE area and had visited a market in Kharadar on Friday evening,” said DSP Murtaza Shah. “We believe they were kidnapped from the market before being tortured and killed.”