Toll hits 87 as 4 more killed in Karachi

Updated at: 0541 PST,  Friday, August 06, 2010  KARACHI: With a military operation looming in the anarchy-ridden Karachi, daily life started returning to normalcy on Thursday; however, four more people were killed, taking the death toll to 87 since Monday, Geo News reported. Three days after Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)’s MPA Raza Haider’s murder, tension still prevailed in some areas, particularly Qasba Colony, Aligarh Colony, Bukhari Colony, Banaras, Kati Pahari, Peerabad, Mominabad and Orangi Town. By and large, complete calm was witnessed and no major incidents were reported as public and private life started returning to normalcy. However, pickup driver Mehmood Yaqoob, 35, was shot dead in Faqir Colony in the Mominabad police precincts. The victim was said to be a resident of Orangi Town, and police registered FIR No 514/10 against unidentified culprits. Similarly, Allah Wasayo, 35, was gunned down near Khyber Masjid in the Paposh Nagar police precincts. The culprits took the victim’s mobile phone and Rs 1,500 cash before escaping. Separately, a middle-aged man was fired at in Yousaf Goth, Orangi Town. Iqbal Market SHO Haji Liaquat said the unidentified victim had sustained an injury to his abdomen and was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where he breathed his last. In another incident, a body in a gunny bag body was found in a taxi near the Saba Cinema in the New Karachi locality. However, there was a dispute over jurisdiction between the Surjani, New Karachi Industrial Area and Ayub Goth police. Incidents of firing and arson were also reported from different parts of the city. Miscreants set ablaze the furniture market in the Sultanabad locality after resorting to indiscriminate firing. Fire tenders reached the site after almost an hour since they were delayed due to intense firing in the area. Around 20 shops were completely burnt before the fire could be brought under control. In Buffer Zone, a dozen carpet and garments shops were damaged in Iran Shopping Centre, while a roadside hotel was also set ablaze. In Orangi Town, a wood store was torched in Sector 111/2, while three houses in Raees Amrohi Colony; intense firing was also reported in various parts of the town. Separately, a teashop was torched in the Shadman locality, while a container trailer in Liaquatabad; three other shops and more than 12 pushcarts were also burnt in separate localities. Due to fear, sparse traffic was witnessed on the roads, while thin attendance at educational institutions and government and private offices. Most areas of Orangi Town remained tense as the town echoed with intense firing all day. On the other hand, police carried out search operations in various parts of Gulistan-e-Jauhar to rescue an alleged MQM activist who was abducted by unidentified people; however, the law enforcers could not recover the man. Meanwhile, citizens in different localities were faced with difficulties due to closure of markets, shops and petrol and CNG stations, as well as lack of transportation on the city’s roads; however, some shops and petrol and CNG stations remained opened to sell petrol, diesel and CNG at double prices.