KARACHI - Reaction of police crackdown against gangsters in Lyari was witnessed in different parts of the City where at least six more people were killed while more than 35 others were wounded in clashes. The death toll reached 26 on Monday.Sources said that police could not get inside Lyari to arrest the gangsters because of resistance and they are now planning to include helicopters in the drive against gangsters. The first incident took place in Shershah area where gunmen riding on some six motorbikes resorted to indiscriminate firing at Shaheen Hotel which left four persons wounded. Three of them succumbed to their injuries on the way to hospital including Junaid Ansari, Rizwan Riaz and Majeed Musa while Rehmat Wahab was wounded. In Agrataj Colony adjacent to the Lyari gunmen hurled hand grenades and left an old man dead while eight others were wounded. Gangsters also threw the body of an abducted man identified as Kashif. Police said that the deceased was abducted from Lyari two days ago. Another man Asif was killed in another Lyari associated area PIB colony.Police said exchange of firing and rocket and grenade attacks continued in different areas of Lyari including Kamil Gali in the remits of Baghdadi police station, Singo lane and Bakra Piri. Gangsters also hurled hand grenades at a hotel located in Lee Market where some eight people were wounded. More than a dozen rocket and grenades have been fired in Kalakot, Nawa Lane, Hongrabad in the remits of Kalri police station. Residents of Lyari when contacted said that gangsters warned residents to participate in protests.Gangsters dispatched protesters in Maripur, where shelling, firing left five persons wounded. Protest in support of gangsters were also reported in different Baloch dominated areas including Shershah where miscreants set on fire two vehicles, one bus at Hub River road, two at Muhabat Nagar, 2 buses were torched in Ibrahim Hydri. Gangsters also set on fire a PPP ward office Kalakot area of Lyari and a police post in Garden area. IG Sindh Mushtaq Shah addressing a Press conference claimed to have killed 5 to 7 gangsters during the action while huge cache of weapons including rocket launcher, grenades, Kalashnikovs and other sort of sophisticated weapons were recovered.IGP declined to give a time frame of action while stated that it will be called when we feel it necessary. Police of Special Investigation Unit (SIU) conducted raid in Illyas Goth, C-1 Area Ilyas Goth and arrested nine gangsters affiliated with Ahmed Ali Barohi gang after an encounter in which three including Ashraf, Asif and Naeem were wounded while Wali Muhammad Naeem, Qaiser Baloch, Arsalan, Ghulam Mustafa were arrested. Police claimed to have recovered 2 Kalashnikovs, one shotgun, repeater, 6 pistols and two hand grenades. Police high ups also sent further contingents to Lyari for backup.DIG South Commander Shaukat when contacted said that we have deployed further contingents in support of already existing police.Meanwhile, speculations are gaining credence that without the support of hidden forces, the criminals in Lyari could not have resisted the onslaught of law-enforcers. Police has entered the densely populated areas to eliminate those who were allegedly responsibly for the death of prominent supporters of PPP in the old quarters of the City.Leaders and activists of PPP fled from various areas of Lyari while offices of the party were also shut down. Questions are being asked as to how could known and identified armed gangsters put up such a resistance to an overwhelming police force unless they have the support which can save them. Strong protests were witnessed in various areas of the metropolis against the crack down on criminals. According to reports gathered from various quarters, an organised move is being made to protect the Lyari gangsters. Sources pointed out the different political groups alongwith Lyari criminals have join hands against the dominating political force in the metropolis and preparing for deadliest bloodshed in Karachi on ethnic grounds.The sources said these criminal elements were also set to set up ‘City Alliance’ which they were on the verge of making public a new alliance which would have brought forces hostile to the established political parties.But before they could announce the formation of new alliance PPP suddenly realised that if such an alliance was created, it could be disastrous not only for itself but for the peace of the City and this forced the government to counter the move and take on armed gangsters by initiating police action.However, the police action could not achieve its target quickly and it seems that it has bogged down with gangsters still controlling the area where they were safely entrenched.Zafar Baloch, the mastermind of political and militant wing of Aman Committee, who until recently was with the ruling PPP, suddenly turned hostile and even publicly told a private TV Channel that ‘PPP gave us weapons to fight against MQM and increase the number of electoral seats in Karachi’.It is pertinent to mention here that PPP itself gave shelter to Aman Committee and its gangsters in Lyari and made Uzair Jan Baloch as head of Aman Committee.It was done, when PPP supported Rehman and his successor Noor Muhammad alias Baba Ladla to thrown the gang of Arshad Papu and his first commander Ghaffar Zikri out of Lyari and captured the whole neighbourhood.The use of heavy weaponry including rocket launcher, LMG, grenades and other automatic weapons is not new in Lyari.