Pillion riding banned in Karachi 25 july 2011

22 more fall prey to violence

* Death toll in straight two days of violence tops 30
* Police, Rangers unable to enter troubled areas 
* Law enforcers claim to have arrested half a dozen suspects

By Atif Raza

KARACHI: At least 22 more people were killed and over 20 wounded when unidentified gunmen went on shooting sprees in several neighbourhoods in Karachi on Sunday, bringing the death toll in straight two days of violence to 31.

Officials of police and Rangers were unable to take any stern action against miscreants as they could not enter the political and ethnic violence-hit areas, where gunfire reverberated and thousands of people stood stranded.

In the worst incident, residents of Malir’s Daud Goth area narrowly escaped rocket and hand grenade attacks when skirmishes among different political parties, including the city’s main political group Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Awami National Party (ANP) and Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H), took place.

In Lyari area, two MQM workers, Ali Akbar and Mohammad Hussain, were mowed down while one Raees was wounded. Another MQM worker, Irfan Ismael, was killed while one Abdul Rasheed was wounded in a firing incident in Quaidabad area.

Three people, Zafar Iqbal Furqan and Iqbal, were gunned down by unidentified men near Disco Mor. One Afnan was also injured in the same incident. A worker, Noorul Islam, of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) was shot dead and one Nazeer wounded in an attack inside Siddiq-e-Akbar Masjid in Sarjani area.

In Nabi Bux area, one Iqbal was gunned down while in Ghas Mandi area one Khalid Baloch was killed. In another firing incident in Liaquatabad area, an unidentified man was gunned down while four others received bullet wounds.

A passerby was killed during a clash between two rival groups in Quaid-e-Azam Colony. Two people, Saleem Shah and Mohammad Pervez, died while over half a dozen were fatally hurt as a result of a gunfight between two political groups in Malir area.

Three more people, namely Ikhlas, Kala Khan and Khalid, were gunned down in Gulberg area.

An MQM activist, Badar Afzal, who was injured in a firing incident two days ago, succumbed to his injuries at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical College on Sunday.

In Daud Goth area, residence of a PPP leader, MNA Sher Mohammad Baloch, was attacked by unidentified criminals. Late on Sunday night, four dead bodies were recovered from different areas of the city. Nevertheless, the Sindh Home Department has imposed an indefinite ban on pillion riding in the city from Monday.

Meanwhile, law enforcers claimed to have arrested over half a dozen suspects during search operations in Baldia Town.