Karachi: Six people have been killed in
Pakistan`s port city of Karachi in the last 24 hours in fresh
wave of violence as the city remained tense and under heavy
patrolling by the para-military rangers.
Several parts of the city remained tense and under
heavy patrolling by the para-military rangers who carried out
snap checking and conducted raids after unknown assailants
killed a unit in-charge of the Mutthaida Qaumi Movement last
night.
The attack on the MQM office set off a wave of
violence in which dozens of shops, banks and vehicles were
burnt by miscreants and there was heavy firing in many pats of
the city.
According to police sources, in the past one-month
some 68 people lost their lives in targeted killings. Three
more persons were killed today in Surjani Town and Gulistan-e-
Jauhar.
The MQM, which is the party with the biggest mandate
in Karachi and represents the Urdu speaking people who
migrated from India, blames the Awami National Party (ANP)
that represents the Pakhtuns of supporting a land mafia which
it claims is behind the target killings.
Senior MQM leader Farooq Sattar today called for
prompt and strict action against `land mafia, drug mafia and
arms mafia` to ensure peace in the metropolitan city.
He said that Awami National Party (ANP) continued to
function as a political party until it was led by Bacha Khan
but "now the sole objective of the party is to patronize land
mafia, drug mafia and an armed group".
Sattar said `land grabbers` are challenging the writ
of the government and called for steps to put a strict check
on the same.
Political and religious parties blame each other for
the target killings which continue unabated as the police have
so far failed to make any major breakthrough or arrests.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani today directed
Interior Minister Rehman Malik to rush to Karachi and take
immediate steps to stop the violence and killings.
PTI
