KARACHI:-
There was no rest in violence in the city as 23 more people were killed since Wednesday night, DawnNews reported.
AP quoted a senior police official as saying that 33 people have been killed in the last 24 hours.
Karachi police chief Saud Mirza said Thursday that authorities were investigating the cause of the fighting.
“Most of the killings have resulted from clashes between criminal gangs operating in Lyari and surrounding areas,” a senior police official said.
“It’s not the kind of fighting that we saw last month, this is more of a gang war.”
But police said turf wars between gangs dealing in drugs and extortion rackets were by no means a new development in Lyari.
“These gangs regularly clash and kill members and supporters of rival groups,” the senior official said.
“Many times, innocent people are also targeted in this rivalry. However, many of those killed end up linked to one gang or the other. Some of these gangs do have political support and backing, but still you cannot term this as a political war as such.”
He acknowledged that “a few” of those killed may have been targeted over their ethnic or political affiliation.
Sixteen bodies have been found in different parts of the metropolis while one man was gunned down in the Baldia Town.
Four bodies were recovered from the Shershah area, three each from Baldia Town, Kakri Ground and the Garden area.
Two bodies were found in Maripur while one from the Mangoper area.
One body recovered from the Baldia Town was of a fire extinguisher Liaquat Azhar who was kidnapped yesterday by unknown men. All the bodies bore marks of torture and gun shots.
The hike in violence started after a former lawmaker of the Pakistan People’s Party was killed in the Lyari area on Wednesday. Three other people were also killed in the firing incident.
Bomb attacks and firing incidents have resulted in deaths of 40 people in last 24 hours in the city.
There was no rest in violence in the city as 23 more people were killed since Wednesday night, DawnNews reported.
AP quoted a senior police official as saying that 33 people have been killed in the last 24 hours.
Karachi police chief Saud Mirza said Thursday that authorities were investigating the cause of the fighting.
“Most of the killings have resulted from clashes between criminal gangs operating in Lyari and surrounding areas,” a senior police official said.
“It’s not the kind of fighting that we saw last month, this is more of a gang war.”
But police said turf wars between gangs dealing in drugs and extortion rackets were by no means a new development in Lyari.
“These gangs regularly clash and kill members and supporters of rival groups,” the senior official said.
“Many times, innocent people are also targeted in this rivalry. However, many of those killed end up linked to one gang or the other. Some of these gangs do have political support and backing, but still you cannot term this as a political war as such.”
He acknowledged that “a few” of those killed may have been targeted over their ethnic or political affiliation.
Sixteen bodies have been found in different parts of the metropolis while one man was gunned down in the Baldia Town.
Four bodies were recovered from the Shershah area, three each from Baldia Town, Kakri Ground and the Garden area.
Two bodies were found in Maripur while one from the Mangoper area.
One body recovered from the Baldia Town was of a fire extinguisher Liaquat Azhar who was kidnapped yesterday by unknown men. All the bodies bore marks of torture and gun shots.
The hike in violence started after a former lawmaker of the Pakistan People’s Party was killed in the Lyari area on Wednesday. Three other people were also killed in the firing incident.
Bomb attacks and firing incidents have resulted in deaths of 40 people in last 24 hours in the city.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has said there were at least 490 political, ethnic and sectarian killings in Karachi during the first half of the year
