At least three people were killed while two others injured in different areas of the city on Friday. Two vehicles were burnt and sporadic clashes were reported in many areas besides aerial firing incidents as Ahl-i-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) observed strike against the ongoing wave of sectarian killings. According to police, a man was shot dead in a firing incident in Nagan Chowrangi.
Another firing incident claimed a man’s life in Qasba Colony. A shopkeeper, identified as Aamir, 28, was gunned down near Taj Complex at MA Jinnah Road.
Clashes were reported in various areas while two buses were set on fire in Lyari area. Traffic was suspended in Quaidabad, Sohrab Goth and Abul Hassan Isfahani Road areas when angry protesters took to the streets.
Commotion due to aerial firing was also reported near Steel Town.
According to Superintendent of Police (SP) Rao Anwaar, angry protesters pelted stones on police mobile that injured a sub-inspector and two others in the area. Religious and political parties, transporters, traders and private school associations also supported the strike.
JI leader Muhammad Hussain Mehnti and spokesman of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat appealed the people and traders to observe the strike peacefully and make it successful. Shia Ulema Council also supported the cause of the strike. Private School Management Association announced to close all the schools in metropolis due to the strike. Talking to a private TV channel, Electronic and Small Traders Association President Muhammad Rizwan said all the markets remained closed to show solidarity with religious parties over the killings of ulema.
Vehicular traffic remained thin as public transport remained off the roads. Markets, businesses and schools were closed.
CNG stations were shut for 24 hours across the province due to the load-shedding management system.
Incidents of rioting and gunfire were reported in Guru Mandir area of the city where some protestors burnt tyres and blocked the roads.
Rioters blocked the National Highway near Quaidabad’s Murghi Khana area and Sohrab Goth area of the city whereas Mauripur road was closed for traffic by protestors.
The protestors also set out to the streets near Dawood Chowrangi blocking traffic from Malir Cantt. Two cars were torched in Kharadar area. One person was killed by gunfire near Capri cinema on MA Jinnah road. The call was supported by over a dozen Sunni organisations and traders and transporters. In a rare gesture, the Shia Ulema Council also backed the strike call. Talking to a private TV channel, Maulana Akbar Saeed Farooqi of the ASWJ said the strike call was supported by the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Wafaqul Madaris al Arabia, an organisation representing more than 10,000 seminaries and around 8,000 Iqra schools across the country, and five other organisations.
“We all feel the pain and brutality that has been going on in the city. Religious scholars and seminary students are also being targeted besides the common people and no one knows the reason behind this menace. There is no doubt that the government has failed to protect lives of the common people and has thus lost the right to govern,” he added.
He said the Friday’s strike was planned to get the ‘peaceful protest’ registered, and persuade the authorities to pay heed to the people’s concerns. No part of the country is facing anarchy-like situation as is Karachi’s”, he added.
The most surprising announcement came from the Shia Ulema Council, supporting the ASWJ’s strike call while stressing that it would back every move made for peace and against terrorism.
“We have suffered the most in recent wave of terrorism,” said Maulana Nazir Abbas Taqvi of the Shia Ulema Council. “We feel the same pain for those families whose loved ones fell prey to this madness, regardless of their sectarian association and their faith. Killing of every innocent man should be condemned by all sections.”
Maulana Taqvi said the council supported the ‘shutdown appeal’ even though it had been made by the ASWJ and other Sunni organisations only to show its resolve against every kind of terrorism, especially in Karachi.
The Jamaat-i-Islami followed suit and its Karachi Chief Muhammad Hussain Mehanti also announced support for the ’peaceful strike’, and so did the traders’ and transport bodies, saying they would support the strike call for ‘good reasons’.
