KARACHI, June 24 Several shops, a truck, four motorcycles and dozens of roadside stalls in Shah Faisal Colony were set on fire on Thursday afternoon following the killing of two Muttahida Qaumi Movement activists in the area.
Amid the arson attacks and exchange of fire between two rival groups in the locality, Rangers and police remained unable to control the violence for many hours though the latter even fired teargas shells in an attempt to control the situation.
A policeman, Zulfiqar, also suffered a bullet wound in the firing, officials said.
Earlier, MQM activist Mohammad Waqar Alam suffered a fatal bullet wound during an exchange of fire between two groups in the early hours of Thursday in Shah Faisal Colony No 4, the police said.
An MQM spokesman confirmed that Waqar Alam was an activist of the party.
Following the killing, the thickly populated area remained tense. Violence broke out in the locality after the funeral of the slain MQM worker when unidentified persons went on a rampage and set fire to private properties.
The funeral prayers of Waqar Alam were offered outside his residence in Shah Faisal Colony No 1 after Zuhar. A large number of party activists attended the funeral. His body was later taken to the Azeempura graveyard for burial.
Later, some arsonists set fire to shops, including some tea shops, dozens of makeshift stalls and vehicles. Four motorcycles and a truck were burnt among other private properties in the area, the police said.
During the arson attacks, intermittent firing between two rival groups continued. “The firing was so intense that even police and Rangers were unable to enter the narrow alleyways of the thickly populated locality,” an area resident told Dawn over the phone.
“People were virtual hostages inside their houses as intermittent firing continued for hours.”
The police resorted to teargas shelling, but did not succeed in bringing the situation under control.
As the violent incidents coupled with frequent firing continued, a bullet-riddled body of another worker of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement was found in the same area.
“The victim, later identified as Zeeshan, was found shot dead inside a car parked near the Colony Gate bridge at 330pm,” said Shafi Rind, the SPO of Sharea Faisal.
The funeral prayers of Zeeshan were later offered at Hanifia Masjid in Shah Faisal Colony. He was laid to rest in the Shuhada graveyard in Azizabad at night.
According to an MQM statement, Zeeshan Mubeen was a worker of Unit No 10 of the party's Shah Faisal Colony sector. He ran a pick-and-drop service. He left his home for work on Thursday morning, but his body was found from Colony Gate in the afternoon, it added.