34 dead, over 100 injured, 40 buses, cars torched
Karachi bleeds, nation weeps
* Majority of dead opposition party workers
* Malir and Al Falah injured unable to reach hospital due to blockades
Staff Report
KARACHI: Thirty-four people were killed and over 100 injured in bloody clashes between pro-government and opposition activists as Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry arrived here on Saturday.
Most of the dead were said to be opposition activists and four were from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). Mobs armed with assault rifles and shotguns fought pitched battles in the streets and torched at least 40 buses and cars. The government and opposition blamed each other for the violence. Justice Chaudhry remained stranded at Karachi airport after flying in because government supporters had used trucks with deflated tyres to shut down all main roads.
The first gunfire was reported at around noon at Malir Halt as an opposition rally headed by the Awami National Party (ANP) passed through the area. People who had blocked Shahra-e-Faisal attacked the rally and an exchange of gunfire ensued. Several people were killed, most of them ANP workers. Nine motorcycles and six cars were set on fire.
Gunmen killed three members of the pro-MQM faction of the Punjabi Pakhtoon Ittehad. A convoy of Pakistan People’s Party workers heading for the airport was ambushed at Natha Khan Bridge, Drigh Road. The workers ran back, some of them injured, leaving behind 14 motorcycles and five cars that were subsequently torched.
People injured in Malir and Al Falah could not reach hospitals because Shahra-e-Faisal was blocked. The third major incident took place at Baloch Colony Bridge on Shahra-e-Faisal. ANP workers said their bus was stopped by armed men who forced them to get off and walk back, upon which they were shot at from behind.
Shahra-e-Faisal from Baloch Colony Bridge to Malir 15 was turned into a war zone even though the Rangers and police were present. They did not interfere. A low-ranking policeman on duty at Shahra-e-Faisal said that he was only carrying a baton. “There were some orders and our weapons were taken from us,” he said. “It was as if we were put here just to watch.” A clash was reported on the Super Highway and Abul Hasan Isphahani Road after an ANP and MMA rally was attacked. Two men were shot dead at Chandni Chowk, while two more were killed in Bin Qasim Town.
Agencies add: Earlier, gunmen killed two PML-N activists as they put up posters welcoming the CJP. Separately, Sunni-Tehreek leader Sohail Qadiri was shot dead. A policeman and a paramedic were also reported to be among the dead.
Thousands of MQM activists armed with sticks roamed Karachi city warning opposition activists and lawyers to stay in their homes prior to the CJP’s arrival.
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| Tuesday, December 22, 2009
