KARACHI: Despite the federal and provincial administrations promised security measures for the city, at least 16 more people were found shot dead in different parts of the city on Friday, bringing the three-day death toll of the renewed wave of violence to 65.
Most casualties were reported in the early hours of the day though random armed attacks and gun battles between some groups continued even during the day in the city.
Along the Lyari river, four body bags were found, said an official of the Pak Colony police station.
He said all the four victims recovered from the gunny bags had a gunshot wound in the head each and torture marks over their body.
The victims were in their mid-20s, the official said, adding that only one of them was identified. “Rizwan was a resident of Waheedabad in Nazimabad,” he said, adding that the three other bodies were shifted to the Edhi morgue after medico-legal formalities at the Civil Hospital Karachi.
Just a few hours later, another body was found near Agra Taj Colony, close to the spot along the Lyari river where the four gunny bags had been found.
The victim, clad in trousers and shirt, remained unidentified, said an official of the Jackson police station. “The body has been shifted to the Edhi morgue after all formalities at the civil hospital,” he said.
The police suspected that the victim had been killed at least two days ago.
Kharadar
Another body bag was spotted along the wall of the Kharadar General Hospital in the early hours of the day, the area police said.
“But unlike other corpses, there was no bullet wound on this body,” said an official of the Baghdadi police station. He added that the victim remained unidentified.
The police suspected that he was strangled and severely tortured.
Gulshan
Two men, including an activist of the Pakistan People’s Party, were killed in neighbouring blocks of Gulshan-i-Iqbal.
“25-year-old Hosh Mohammad was killed near Mona Plaza in block 5,” said an official of the Gulshan-i-Iqbal police station.
The victim originally hailed from Larkana and worked here as a watchman in the commercial area, the official added.
In the neighbouring block 3, a 40-year-old PPP activist was gunned down in the early hours of the day, said an official of the Mobina Town police station. He said Sharif Gabol was hit by three bullets in Haji Leemon Goth.
Orangi
A 37-year-old man was shot dead by armed riders in Orangi Town.
The area police said Rasool Bukhsh, a resident of Sector B-L, was targeted near his home.
Godhra
Tension prevailed in the Godhra Camp area of New Karachi after Thursday’s killings of two young men sparked an armed clash between two groups that continued on Friday.
While Rangers and police cordoned off the area in the early hours of the day to launch a search operation, the exercise did not prove effective as yet another man was killed on Friday. “27-year-old Bilal Qadri alias Sagar was killed in Sector 11-G,” said an official at the New Karachi Industrial Area police station.
The victim was a Sunni Tehreek activist and an area resident, the official said.
PIB Colony
Two men were killed in the main commercial area of PIB Colony in the early hours of the day, the area police said.
Mobin Ahmed, 42, and Azhar Baloch, 29, were hit by multiple bullets when armed men riding a motorbike opened random fire in the market, the police said.
“The victims were not related to each other,” said PIB Colony SHO Inspector Zulfiqar Bhangwar.
Shireen Jinnah
Almost at the same time, armed men riding a motorbike fired at two young neighbours sitting outside their homes in Shireen Jinnah Colony.
“The victims were identified as Anwar Khan and Shaharyar Khan,” said Jackson SHO Inspector Aslam Joyo. He added that the firing seemed to be linked to the spate of violence
Nazimabad
Just after the sunset, two young residents of PIB Colony were targeted in Nazimabad, the area police said.
Amjed Khan and Hashim Khan were targeted near Gol Market in Eidgah where they had come for some personal work, said an official at the Shamim Shaheed police post of the Nazimabad police station.