Karachi explodes into violence; 27 dead

KARACHI - Fresh wave of ethnic violence in Karachi Wednesday claimed 27 lives and over a dozen vehicles were set ablaze in different parts of the metropolis while Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has ordered to shoot at sight criminals involved in terror activities.
Despite the declaration of emergency in local hospitals, ambulance services were facing problems in entering the violence-hit areas.
Fresh incidents of violence gripped Zarina Colony within the jurisdiction of Khawaja Ajmer Nagri Police Station where two MQM workers, Mehmood Khalil and Muhammad Shahid, were shot dead. They were participating in a burial procession when unidentified criminals resorted to aerial firing from the hills of Pahar Ganj. Both of them sustained critical bullet injuries and died on the spot. Witnesses said that due to intense firing, bodies of the deceased MQM workers were recovered after hectic efforts of about two hours. The incident led to a series of heavy firing from both sides, which killed two passersby.
Meanwhile, a chain of bloody clashes between rival groups spread to different parts of the City including North Karachi, New Karachi, Banaras, Sohrab Goth, Abulhassan Aspahani Road, Safoorah Goth, Qauidabad, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Shah Faisal Colony, Surjani Town and other areas.
According to well-connected sources, some 14 bodies and around a dozen injured people were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital alone while corpses and seven wounded citizens were also shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).
The dead at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital were identified as Dost Ali, Jamil Siddique killed near Shahrah-e-Noorjahn; Sarfarz and Jumma Khan were shot dead in Surjani Town; Sanwal Ali, two MQM activists in Khawaja Ajmer Nagri and Javed in New Karachi Industrial Area. Four people were shot dead in Bilal Colony while five unidentified men lost their lives in different bloody incidents in the City.
About eight bodies were taken to the JPMC where they were identified as Muhammad Din, an activist of MQM and resident of Shah Faisal Colony, Sanobar, Zahoor, Anwar Muhammad and four unknown men besides dozens wounded persons.
Following the bloody clashes, heavy contingents of police and Rangers were deployed in sensitive areas including Zarina Colony, Banaras, Sohrab Goth, Quaidabad, North Nazimabad, New Karachi and Surjani Town. Law enforcement agencies claimed to have arrested some 35 miscreants and seized a large quantity of weapons during search operation in North Nazimabad Town.