With roads littered with broken glass and charred shells of cars, city-wide incidents of violence and arson left at least six people killed and over 50 injured and public and private property worth incalculable amount torched on the third day of mourning for Benazir Bhutto's assassination.
Police have claimed to have arrested red-handed over 250 miscreants, apparently supporters of Pakistan People's Party (PPP), while firing and vandalising or burning public and private property in various neighbourhoods of the city.
Started early in the morning, incidents of indiscriminate firing in Miranaka, Agra Taj, Bihar Colony, Chakiwara, Khudda Market, Bughdadi, Kalri, Kalakot areas of Lyari Town, political stronghold of PPP, left at least four people dead and 50 others wounded. The injured were rushed to Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK). A medico-legal officer (MLO) in CHK confirmed the Lyari death toll.
Those dead in Lyari violence included Rizwan, 25, Kamran, 25, Ashraf, 28, and an unknown person, while 18-year-old Usman was shot dead by unidentified persons in Korangi, police sources said. Heavy contingents of Rangers, comprising 11,000 personnel, are deployed in Karachi to restore law and order. They were striving to bring normalcy to Lyari, which appeared to be the most volatile neighbourhood of the city on Saturday.
Salim, one of the eight workers stranded in a garment factory burnt by angry mob on Friday in Korangi Industrial Area (KIA), was recovered from the facility in the face of a burnt corpse. Burnt bodies of the other seven workers, including a woman, had been recovered earlier.
According to hospital sources seven people with wounds of gunshots were brought to the CHK from Sohrab Goth, North Nazimabad and Orangi Town. Causing losses of billions of rupees, protesters plundered and torched three factories and four heavy trailers in KIA late on Friday night, while another factory in New Karachi was also set on fire. At least 20 shops were set ablaze in 'Lunda' bazaars of Shershah and Light House and hotel, three shops and several pushcarts in Lee Market.
Three banks, including two branches of Habib Bank in Site area and one of Askari Bank in Old Haji Camp were also burnt by the protesters. A group of protesters also attacked the office of Suparco but security guards pushed them out of the facility.
In the wake of a government-backed three-day national mourning downtown neighbourhoods of Karachi gave a deserted look on the third day of killing of the PPP chairperson.
Armed military and paramilitary forces patrolling streets and major thoroughfares of the metropolis were also giving the city a garrison look besides symbolising a highly sensitive condition of the law and order situation.
With their vehicles without fuel and petrol/CNG stations closed Karachiites remained off the roads throughout the day with a very thin vehicular traffic comprising mostly the private cars, autorickshaws and bikes. People also faced hardships in maintaining their kitchen affairs due to closure of shops selling kitchen items.
Meanwhile, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Azhar Ali Farooqui said that the police had brought the situation under control in some parts of the city after deployment of army.
He said most parts of the metropolis were peaceful and personnel of Rangers and police were guarding those areas where army is not deployed. About damage, the CCPO said that the two-day violence in Karachi had left 17 people dead, 49 injured and over 500 vehicles, 18 banks, 10 factories, 8 petrol pumps and two restaurants torched.
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