After normalcy returned to Lyari with an ‘operational’ ceasefire in place, violence erupted in the Orangi Town on Saturday as three people were gunned down in the area by unidentified assailants. A heavy contingent of police, Frontier Constabulary (FC) and Pakistan Rangers was called in the multi-ethnic town for maintaining the law and order situation from spiralling out of control.
The armoured personnel carriers (APC) that remained engaged in the Lyari Town for the whole past week were rushed to the Orangi Town. After killing of the three men in the area, the Pakhtun and Urdu-speaking population of Orangi Town came face to face blaming each other for the incidents. The Kati Pahari area echoed with gunfire after the killing of two Pakhtuns in Qasba Colony and soon after, an Urdu-speaking community member was shot dead. Exchange of gunfire was reported from several other areas as tension prevailed in the entire town, resulting in the closure of shops and markets.
Peerabad SHO Pervez Gujjar told Pakistan Today that two Pakhtuns were gunned down by unidentified armed men in Qasba 2 ½, Orangi Town.
He said Muzzammil, 26, and his cousin Imran were sitting at their poultry shop in the area when two unidentified attackers riding a motorcycle sprayed them with bullets. The victims suffered serious bullet injuries and were rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH), where they succumbed to their wounds.
Gujjar said unidentified armed miscreants took to the streets and forcibly closed down shops and markets.
Meanwhile, a 26-year-old man identified as Ghayyaz, son of Ayaz, was shot dead by unidentified assailants.
The killing then sparked violence in the Urdu-speaking dominated areas.
SITE Superintendent of Police Malik Zafar Iqbal told Pakistan Today that the killings had caused panic in Orangi Town but the situation is under control now and routine life resumed later in the night. He said that the FC personnel deployed in Lyari during the last week’s operation were called to Orangi Town and took control of their pickets in the area.
The officer said that Rangers personnel have also started patrolling and snap-checking in the troubled town to keep an eye over any suspicious activity.
“I am the town right now and there is no tension but law enforcers have been put on alert in case violence erupts,” he said. Iqbal said that none of the three victims had affiliations with any political or religious parties.
The funeral prayers of the two cousins were held at the Kati Pahari and they were later buried in the Paracha Graveyard of Orangi Town.
With Lyari op on-hold, trouble brews in Orangi
