Youth’s murder in Lyari spurs outrage

KARACHI – Lyari turned into a battlefield and enraged members of the Kutchi community blocked the Mauripur Road on Saturday following the murder of a teenage boy. A clash broke out when activists of the People’s Amn Committee (PAC) tried to stop the Kutchi Rabita Committee (KRC) from setting up barriers on the streets of Moosa Lane in the wee hours of the day.
Nineteen-year-old Imran Muhammad Hussain of the Kutchi community was shot dead and seven others were injured in the clash. Hussain’s body and the injured people were shifted to the Civil Hospital Karachi, whereas all routine activities were suspended in Lyari area. The locals were confined to their homes as intense crossfire continued between activists of the PAC and the KRC. A heavy contingent of policemen was deputed in the troubled vicinities and Rangers were also called in as backup to restore law and order.
A war broke out in the narrow lanes of Lyari as armed men tried to target their opponents from the rooftops of houses. Members of the Kutchi community took to the streets and gathered at the Mauripur Road. The enraged protesters blocked the traffic by placing heavy stones on the road, pelting stones at vehicles and torching tyres. They chanted slogans against the government and the law enforcement agencies for their failure to curb crime.
The suspension of traffic at the Mauripur Road resulted in massive traffic gridlocks in many other areas including Merewether Tower, the II Chundrigar Road and the MA Jinnah Road. Vehicles were stuck for several hours at the ICI Bridge. Later, the mob gathered in the Khadda Market area of Lyari for the funeral prayer of youth. Intermittent aerial firing continued in Khadda Market and adjoining areas despite the presence of a large number of law enforcers there.
Later, the Katchi community members headed towards the Chief Minister’s House to protest the PAC activists’ assault on KRC members. They claimed that PAC, which is involved in several heinous crimes, has made life miserable for the residents of Lyari. They also alleged that the PAC criminals are backed by the government. A heavy contingent of law enforcers arrived outside the Chief Minister’s House to disperse the protesters, who later went back to the Mauripur Road and staged a sit-in there.
Baghdadi SHO Muhammad Ali told Pakistan Today the teenager was gunned down in a clash that erupted when PAC activists tried to stop KRC members from setting up barriers in Musa Lane. He said that the deceased teenager and five injured people belong to the KRC. The wounded men were identified as Ali Akbar, Sikander Ismail, Shakil Abdul Sattar, Abdul Razzak and Ashraf Usman Ghani, he added. Two PAC activists, Zakir Hussain and Jamshed Yousuf, who were also injured in the clash, are in a serious condition.
Representatives of both groups have lodged a case against each other at the Baghdadi police station. FIR No 53/11 was registered under Sections 302, 324, 147, 148, 149 on the complaint of the teenage victim’s father against PAC’s Jamshed Sonara, Sajjad Khatri, Mukhtar and Farhan. Conversely, FIR No 54/11 was registered under Sections 302/34 on the complaint of injured PAC activist Zakir Hussain against KRC activists at the same police station.
Lyari TPO Mehmood Pervez refuted the claim that the entire Lyari Town was closed down, and said that only Khadda Market is the troubled area. He said that more police and Rangers have been deployed in the area to bring the law and order situation under control. He also said that peace cannot be restored in the area until both groups resolve the issue through talks.