Karachi: Fresh violence erupted here Saturday as at least 14 people were killed, including seven of them within an hour, with armed men on motorcycles carrying out target killings in Pakistan`s biggest city.
In block 2 of Gulshan-e-Iqbal area, armed gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on people sitting at a tea stall close to a well known Madrasa run by the `Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat`.
DIG East zone, Shahid Hayat confirmed that at least five people, including students of the Madrasa, had been killed in the incident while there were about five others injured.
"Condition of two of the injured is critical," he said.
In another incident of target killing, near the Saifee college in North Nazimabad, armed men on motorcycles killed two persons travelling in a car, one of them is said to be the editor of a weekly magazine.
The killings come at a time when an International Defence Exhibition is being held at the Expo centre in the city and the Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar is visiting the city with a high level delegation.
Interestingly most of the shootings today were carried out by gunmen on motorcycles although the Sindh provincial government yesterday night imposed a ban on pillion riding because of `Muharram`, the month of mourning, round the corner.
Soon after the shooting near the Madrasa, angry students came out on the roads to vent their anger and a spokesman for the `Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat` said the government had failed miserably to provide security and safety to citizens.
Today there were target killings in different areas of the city with two men being shot dead in Korangi.
Five other people were also killed today in the city in separate incidents, the police said.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik today gave details regarding the violence in Karachi to the National Assembly and said that a total of 1,363 people have lost their lives at the hands of target killers during the past five years.
Giving a breakdown of the figure, Malik said that 104 people had been killed in the year 2008, 160 in 2009, 373 in 2010, 478 in 2011 and 248 so far in 2012.
However the figures given by independent organisations, including the Human Rights commission of Pakistan, put the figure of those killed this year much higher.
PTI
