At least five people were killed and over three dozen injured in Karachi as a shutter-down strike was observed across Sindh on a call given by the Awami Tehreek (AT) to protest Tuesday’s killings in a pro-Sindh rally and a similar call by Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM) against the murder of its leader.
At least 11 people were killed and over two dozen injured when gunmen opened fire on an otherwise peaceful protest rally against the rising demands for a separate “Muhajir Sooba”.
The JSMM called the strike after the tortured and bullet-riddled body of party Secretary General Muzaffar Bhutto, who went missing on February 24, 2011, was found dumped in bushes in the limits of Chalgari police station on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani formed a committee under Makhdoom Amin Faheem and comprising Maula Bux Chandio¸ Syed Naveed Qamar and Syed Khursheed Shah to look into Tuesday’s killings. Minister for Interior Rehman Malik also directed authorities to constitute a joint investigation team to probe into the attack.
The Karachi additional IG would head the probe team, which would consist of officials from the Inter-Services Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, Federal Investigation Agency and Police Special Branch.
The Sindh government also decided to appoint a Sindh High Court judge to investigate the attack on the rally. Life in Karachi came to standstill following the shutter-down strike call by AT leader Ayaz Latif Palejo, as shops and markets across the city remained closed on Wednesday.
The government-run educational institutions remained open after an announcement by the Sindh chief minister, however, many private schools observed an unannounced holiday. During protests, angry people set tyres on fire on the city’s main roads and blocked them for every type of traffic. Residents remained inside their houses and incidents of intermittent aerial firing were reported from almost all areas of the city.
A bus was torched on Napier Road near Lea Market and two motorcycles were set on fire by an unidentified mob in Mujahid Colony, Orangi Town, after clashes between Pashtuns and Urdu-speaking population.
Life in rest of Sindh also came to a halt, as all major markets, shopping plazas and petrol stations in Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Sukkur, Shikarpur, Khairpur, Pir Jo Goth, Gambat, Sobhodero, Thari Mirwah, Faiz Gunj, Kotdiji, Naro and other major cities remained closed and transport remained thin. Hundreds of workers and leaders of the Awami Tehreek, including women and children, protested in various districts of Sindh and observed a sit-in against the attack on peaceful rally of the AT in Karachi.
In reaction to JSMM leader’s murder, aerial firing was reported in parts of Sindh and several vehicles were set on fire. The JSMM announced 10 days of mourning and a strike across the province. Enraged activists of JSQM and JSSF held protests, burnt tyres and blocked roads besides chanting slogans against the government.
Meanwhile, the government of Sindh extended for another three months the additional authorities for Pakistan Rangers Sindh given the law and order situation in Karachi. A notification has been issued in this regard. The powers enable the paramilitary troops to search any premises without warrants. In addition, Rangers can open fire at miscreants in their defence and besiege any area in case of presence of culprits there.
