THATTA, Aug 25: Five Navy personnel, all in plain clothes, and three activists of the Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party suffered injuries, two of them critically, when the Navy men and STP activists clashed on the National Highway on Thursday.

According to eyewitnesses, the Navy men riding in a coaster were stuck in a traffic jam on the National Highway, in front of Adam Halo Hotel, where a crowed of STP workers were waiting for their leader Dr Qadir Magsi.

In the meantime, two Navy personnel stepped off the coaster and started arguing with the activists, telling them to let their vehicle pass.

The argument soon turned into a brawl, with both sides bad-mouthing each other.

An onlooker told Dawn that someone from the crowd fired in the air, inviting a reply from the Navy personnel. The area resounded with gunfire for over 15 minutes.

The crowd pelted the coaster with stones, forcing passengers to duck for cover, according to eyewitnesses.

Ghayas Memon, the district president of STP, tried to cool down tempers and appealed for patience.

When the appeal drew a blank, he himself clambered onto the driver’s seat and drove the coaster to a nearby police station.

The STP activists also rushed there and surrounded the police station.

But in the meantime STP chairman Dr Qadir Magsi reached the police station and resolved the issue after talking to Navy commander Badshah Khan and Thatta DSP Mohammad Younus Rodhnani.

Commander Badshah Khan and police sources told journalists that since the issue had been settled, there was no need for an FIR.