A fresh incident of gunfire that left a trader injured in the old city area market on Friday spoiled business activities badly and created widespread fears, forcing traders to shut their businesses much before the sunset.
"Two rival armed outlaw groups opened gunfire at each other's men in a market of old city area, leaving a trader injured, after which fears of violence hit the business activity and the traders had to shut their shops," said Chairman of All Karachi Tajir Ittehad, Muhammad Atiq Mir.
He said the police had resigned itself to the increasing lawlessness in the metropolis, whereas the government had been in "hiding" since its first day of charge. He called upon Pakistan Army to take control of the city and restore peace after the civil administration showed its incompetence and indifference. "The Sindh government has shifted to Islamabad, and the province is now without a government where outlaws, target killers and extortion mafia are in control of affairs," he said.
He demanded of Pakistan Army to help Karachi people in spontaneous warfare-like situation where people are now being targeted on ethnicity basis. He said the violence had badly crippled the city's trade and tarnished its image world-wide. Talking to Business Recorder, President of Old City Traders Alliance, Jamil Paracha, said a local trader was injured in gunfire between two hostile groups in the old city area in the morning hours.
"The gunfire spread panic in the area which caused immediate shutter-down to markets," he said, adding that the whole day remained in fears for traders who twice closed their shops in different hours and finally shut their businesses before sunset. Traders had, just a day earlier, observed strike to protest the killings of two traders in the old city area markets and staged a sit-in and demonstrations to condemn the increasing lawlessness.
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