Karachi sees 39 murdered within 2 days
Source: Agencies |
August 19, 2011, Friday
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SUSPECTED gang members killed 39 people in two days in Pakistan's largest city, with many of the victims tortured, shot and stuffed in sacks that were dumped on the streets, officials said yesterday.
The gangs are allegedly affiliated to the city's main political parties and are blamed for a surge in killings in recent months.
Seventeen people were killed in Karachi on Wednesday and another 22 yesterday, said Saud Mirza, police chief in the teeming metropolis of 18 million people. Many victims were tortured, shot in the head and stuffed in burlap sacks, he said.
A resident in one neighborhoods that has experienced much of the violence said people were afraid to leave their homes.
The latest round of violence seemed to be driven by a mix of political and criminal motivations, said Sharfuddin Memon, the security adviser to the government in Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital.
"Gangs operating in the city are involved in the latest killings," Memon said. "They are kidnapping people for different reasons, torturing and killing."
A senior leader of the most powerful political party in Karachi, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, blamed members of the ruling Pakistan People's Party for the recent violence. Raza Haroon claimed the killings were being carried out by a committee set up by the Pakistan People's Party to control violence in Lyari Town, a poor area and ruling party stronghold.
Supporters of the Pakistan People's Party have been targeted by the violence too.
A former national lawmaker from the ruling party, Waja Kareem Dad, was gunned down on Wednesday evening, according to Sharfuddin Memon, the security adviser.
Karachi has a long history of political, ethnic and sectarian violence, but the recent wave is high by historical standards. More than 300 people were killed in July alone.
The gangs are allegedly affiliated to the city's main political parties and are blamed for a surge in killings in recent months.
Seventeen people were killed in Karachi on Wednesday and another 22 yesterday, said Saud Mirza, police chief in the teeming metropolis of 18 million people. Many victims were tortured, shot in the head and stuffed in burlap sacks, he said.
A resident in one neighborhoods that has experienced much of the violence said people were afraid to leave their homes.
The latest round of violence seemed to be driven by a mix of political and criminal motivations, said Sharfuddin Memon, the security adviser to the government in Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital.
"Gangs operating in the city are involved in the latest killings," Memon said. "They are kidnapping people for different reasons, torturing and killing."
A senior leader of the most powerful political party in Karachi, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, blamed members of the ruling Pakistan People's Party for the recent violence. Raza Haroon claimed the killings were being carried out by a committee set up by the Pakistan People's Party to control violence in Lyari Town, a poor area and ruling party stronghold.
Supporters of the Pakistan People's Party have been targeted by the violence too.
A former national lawmaker from the ruling party, Waja Kareem Dad, was gunned down on Wednesday evening, according to Sharfuddin Memon, the security adviser.
Karachi has a long history of political, ethnic and sectarian violence, but the recent wave is high by historical standards. More than 300 people were killed in July alone.
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