Lyari’s Baloch hit back

It was yet another day of unrest involving the troubled neighbourhood of Lyari on Wednesday, as police baton-charged and tear-gassed protesting residents of the town in the Lee Market area after the latter attacked them with stones.
The protesters, wearing masks, were staging a protest against the police, claiming that the law enforcers looted their houses under the garb of conducting a search operation. The police had recently conducted an operation in Lyari following the murder of Kutchi Rabita Committee (KRC) leader Abdul Rasheed Kutchi on Sunday.
Claiming that the police action was aimed against the Baloch community of Lyari, masked residents of the area took to the streets in the old city area, firing gunshots in the air and forcing shops and markets to shut down.
Some of them staged a protest in Lee Market area. They torched tyres and blocked roads, chanting slogans against the police and demanding that the government should put an end to the “highhandedness” of the police in Lyari.
They claimed that the police are targeting the Baloch population of the town in order to appease a government’s coalition partner.
They alleged that the police looted the poor citizens of Lyari in the name of conducting a house-to-house search operation in the town.
A large number of policemen reached the spot and were attacked by protesting mob.
The police baton-charged and tear-gassed the protesters, who retaliated by pelting stones at the law enforcers.
After an hour-long effort, the police managed to compel with the leadership of protesters into ending their demonstration and clearing the roads.
Talking with Pakistan Today, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader in Lyari, Zafar Baloch claimed the police took away the residents’ television sets, computers, jewellery and cell phones during the search operation that was started after the killing of the KRC leader.
“The police entered the houses to loot the residents’ valuables. If they wanted to arrest extortionists, they would have raided gambling dens. But they did not do that because they are bribed by the influential owners of these dens,” he added.
 The PPP leader said the police specifically targeted the Baloch residents of the town. He blamed his own party for the “biased” search operation and asked PPP Co-Chairman President Asif Ali Zardari to look into this matter.
“The president should take action against the PPP leaders, who supported the operation in a bid to dent the PPP’s vote bank in Lyari,” he demanded.
City Town SP Nasir Aftab told Pakistan Today that the police had launched a search operation against the gangsters and criminals of Lyari.
He rejected the claims of the protesters that the police are targeting the Baloch population of the town.
“This search operation was not started because of the murder of the KRC leader and it had to be conducted even if that had not happened. Some people are wrongly trying to give the impression that there are political motives behind the operation,” he added.
The police official said around 25 notorious gangsters have been arrested from the town during the two-day search operation.
“The arrested people were not only Baloch, but there were also Kutchi among them,” he added.
“The police have taken weapons and drugs into custody during the house-to-house search operation and if these things are their ‘precious valuables’, then yes the police have seized them.”
 Dawood Kutchi, a KRC leader, appreciated that the police conducted an operation in the town.
“Keeping the operation in view, the KRC has postponed its protest, which was scheduled after the murder of our leader,” he said.
“The police have assured us that Rasheed’s killers will be arrested. However if they fail to produce any results, the KRC will decide its future course of action,” he added.