KARACHI, July 18: An unsure peace returned to Lyari when warring groups carried out the presidential directive of burying the hatchet and displaced families began coming back home on Monday.

Between 800 and 900 families had fled their houses in Khadda Mar-ket, Moosa Lane and the adjoining areas amid violence.

Representatives of the Kutchhi Rabita Council and the People's Amn Committee — locked in internecine warfare until recently — said that the president directed both the sides to respect each other and issued orders [to law-enforcers] in no uncertain terms to restore peace in Lyari.

Following the presidential directive, police also swung into action and police commandos took up positions in the violence-hit areas of Khadda Market, Sangarabad, Hingorabad and Moosa Lane.

Earlier, a major area of Lyari had become a no-go area especially for the police.

Under a peace plan, the police would set up pickets in sensitive areas of Lyari and act as a buffer between the areas dominated by Kutchhi and Baloch communities to avert any skirmishes in future.

The deployment started late Sunday night when police commandos were sent to the strife-hit parts of Lyari and deputy inspector general of police (south) visited the troubled area.

The development was the result of a meeting of a KRC delegation with President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday. It is likely that the repeated demonstrations being staged on Mauripur Road by the KRC would come to an end following the meeting.

On Monday, Capital City Police Chief Saud Mirza visited parts of Lyari along with some representatives of the KRC and Amn Committee.

During the visit, residents handed out complaints of different nature to the police chief.

“The occupants left our houses last night and now displaced people, who had left the violence-hit areas of Lyari, have started returning home,” said KRC spokesman Mohammad Siddiq.

Though the armed groups had only returned to their areas, he said he was optimistic about the measures being adopted for restoration of peace in the area.

“President Asif Ali Zardari has promised a follow-up meeting with the KRC delegation in near future so that orders passed during the Sunday night meeting are reviewed,” the KRC spokesman said.

A spokesman for the People's Amn Committee, Zafar Baloch, attributed the latest development for restoration of peace in the area to President Zardari meetings on the Lyari situation.

“The president had issued strict orders to normalise the situation in Lyari.”

He had also called for re-organisation of the Pakistan People's Party in Lyari under the leadership of Dr Zulfikar Mirza by doing away with small groups, Mr Baloch said. Since KRC representatives called themselves voters and supporters of the PPP they were supposed to join in during the party's re-organisation, he said. He added that a committee would be constituted for the purpose of party's re-organisation.