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Pro-Taliban graffiti spurs violence in Karachi

By Faraz Khan

KARACHI: Law enforcement agencies have imposed a virtual curfew in Sarjani Town after four persons were wounded in a crossfire between two groups after pro-Taliban slogans were found painted on the walls of a church on Wednesday.

At least two houses, over half a dozen shops, pushcarts and roadside stalls were set ablaze by unidentified men. Heavy contingents of police and Rangers were called to the scene, however, it took them several hours to ease the tense situation, while routine and commercial life in the area was suspended. Law enforcers carried out a door-to-door search operation to arrest the culprits, detaining at least seven persons from the area and seizing weapons.

However, police officials declined the presence of Taliban in the area and believed it to be a conspiracy by elements that wanted to disturb the peace of the city. The church, where slogans such as ‘Taliban zindabad’, ‘Islam zindabad’, ‘Christians Islam qabol karo’ were found painted on the walls, is located near Khuda Ki Basti, Taiser Town, within the jurisdiction of the Sarjani police station.

When the slogans were discovered, scores of Christians gathered on the road and staged a protest. Witnesses said while strongly criticising the Awami National Party (ANP), Pashtuns and the Taliban, the protesters chanted slogans such as ‘Taliban murdabad’, ‘ANP murdabad’ and ‘Pashtuns murdabad’. They burnt tyres and pelted stones at passing vehicles. During the riots, they also set ablaze over half a dozen shops, including pushcarts and roadside stalls owned by Pashtuns.

In retaliation, hundreds of Pashtuns also gathered at the scene and after exchanging hot words, the two groups resorted to firing. Consequently, three Christians and one person from the Pashtun group, sustained injuries and were shifted to a hospital.

The injured included Emran Masih, Qudoos Masih, Irfan Masih, and Rozi Khan.

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