At least 11 people, including two policemen, a gangster and a woman, were killed on Saturday in the ongoing battle between law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and criminal gangs for Karachi’s troubled Lyari area, a stronghold of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
The operation started after President Asif Ali Zardari ordered authorities to purge the area of criminals ahead of the general elections in 2013.
At least 19 people have so far been killed during two days of violence and more than 50 others have been left injured.
The operation is being led by Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief SSP Chaudhry Aslam. The FC, police and Elite Force is taking part in the Lyari operation.
Lyari has turned into a battlefield and routine life in the town has come to a standstill. Shops and markets in the area have been closed down and people have been forced to remain inside their houses amid frequent exchange of heavy gunfire between LEAs and criminals.
On Saturday, residents of Lyari staged a protest demonstration at the main football ground against the operation and chanted slogans against LEAs.
They claimed that the LEAs had started looting their houses in the name of operation. They demanded President Zardari look into the matter and stop the operation in the PPP stronghold. Some leaders of the Peoples Aman Committee (PAC) have announced their disassociation with the PPP.
Zaffar Baloch, Habib Jan and Uzair Baloch were among those who announced their disassociation with the PPP.
Office-goers found it impossible to reach work, while the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK) postponed exams in all six centres set up in Lyari.
Among those killed, at least nine people, including a Station House Officer (SHO), a woman, a policeman and the brother of a notorious criminal Mullah Nisar were killed in the jurisdiction of Kalakot police station. Killings also took place at Cheel Chowk, Afshani Gali, Gabol Park and Nawa Lane. Kalakot police SHO Azam Gopang refused to take part in the operation and relieved the charge of his police station.
At Afshani Gali, Jogi Chowk, miscreants equipped with sophisticated weapons attacked an armored personnel carrier (APC) of police and killed Civil Lines SHO Fawad Khan.
Kalakot police head moharir Waheed confirmed the killing. He said the miscreants fired rockets at the APC due to which the wind screen of the APC broke, after which they opened blatant fire and killed the SHO.
Waheed said an ASI of Civil Lines police station, Iftikhar and a head constable (HC) of Kalakot police, Syed Intizar Ali Shah, were also injured in the attack. He added that three men were also killed in Nawa Lane and were identified as Akhtar, Luqman and Wahid Bux.
Waheed added that two men, including a HC, were gunned down at Cheel Chowk. Another man, who was identified as Muhammad Azeem, was also killed at Cheel Chowk. Separately, a woman and a man were shot dead near Gabol Park. “Two others, including the brother of notorious Lyari gangster Mullah Nisar, Mullah Sohail and Akhtar Hussain were killed during the operation in Afshani Gali,” Waheed concluded.
CID Chief SSP Chaudhry Aslam told Pakistan Today that the operation was still going on and LEAs had cleared many areas of Lyari from criminals. He said LEAs had cleared Nawa Lane, Cheel Chowk and Afshani Gali and established its pickets.
He said two cops and three gangsters had been killed in the operation, adding that several innocent people had also fallen prey to the violence.
“I will not give a deadline for completion of the operation but I am hopeful that the operation would be concluded in a couple of days.” Additional Inspector General (AIG) Sindh Akhtar Ghorchani said that the criminals had sophisticated weapons and LEAs were facing difficulties in the operation. He said the criminals had the support of banned outfits and some anti-state elements, “but we will complete this operation soon”.
“We have put extra force on alert and if needed send it to Lyari to complete operation,” he said.
TV channels, meanwhile, reported that the police were being helped by the Arshad Pappu gang and they were actively participating in the “search operation”.
Uzair Baloch told a private TV channel that the search operation was in fact an attempt to hand over Lyari’s control to the Arshad Pappu gang.