21 Pakistanis Killed in Karachi, Pashtunkhwa Awami Party Protests the Target Killings, May 20, 2010

21 Pakistanis Killed in Karachi, Pashtunkhwa Awami Party Protests the Target Killings

May 20, 2010

Activists of Pakistani political Pashtunkhwa Awami Party, shout slogans as they march during a protest in Quetta on May 20, 2010 against alleged target killings in Karachi.

At least 17 people including two children have been killed in political clashes in Pakistan's financial capital Karachi in the past two days, a government official and police said.

Police and paramilitary have been put on high alert and authorities closed all schools and colleges after the latest outbreak of politically related violence in Karachi, the biggest and richest city in Pakistan.

21 dead in Karachi target killings

The Daily News, Pakistan, Thursday, May 20, 2010

* Shops remain closed, three vehicles torched after killings
* Sindh CM, governor hold meeting at Governor’s House
* MQM accuses ANP of politicising issue

KARACHI/LAHORE:

At least 21 people have been killed and 25 injured in fresh incidents of target killings in Karachi during the last 24 hours, a private TV channel reported on Wednesday.

According to the channel, tension and fear have gripped the city, as shops remained closed and three vehicles were torched after the killings.

The shootings took place in Shah Faisal Colony, Nagin Chowrangi, Saddar, Golden Town, Nazimabad, Dhoraji Colony, Dastagir, Korangi, Malir, Quaidabad, Qalandria and other areas. Out of the people killed, six were Pakhtuns, two Urdu-speaking citizens, two Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi workers, two Punjabis, two Awami National Party (ANP) activists and one an activist of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.

In one of the incidents, unidentified men opened fire at a shop selling mobile phones in Shah Faisal Colony, killing a man and injuring a child, the channel reported. In the same area, unidentified gunmen shot and killed one Muhammad Hanif and injured two others.

Another incident occurred in Sector 11 of Nagin Chowrangi, where motorcyclists shot and killed Abdul Karim. Later, a man was shot and killed outside the emergency section of the Civil Hospital Karachi, while another was shot in Dastagir locality. Several men also killed a man in Korangi 6, while another was murdered in the Malir area.

Later at night, two more people were gunned down in Qalandria and Quaidabad areas, the channel reported, citing a police statement. Police have filed first information reports on the target killings against unidentified persons and have started investigations, while an extra contingent of police and rangers has been deployed in sensitive areas.

Meet: Separately, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Governor Ishratul Ibad Khan held a meeting at the Governor’s House and discussed the target killings in the city and several other issues.

ANP leader Zahid Khan said his workers had been among those killed during the last 24 hours, adding that his party workers fell ‘prey to such targeted killings’ whenever the party pressed the rulers to fulfil their demands.

Vested interests: Separately, the MQM condemned the killings in the city and accused the local leadership of the ANP for politicising the issue for its own vested interests. “It could be an attempt on the part of the ANP to divert attention from the activities of the Hazara community in the city against renaming of the NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” said MQM Coordination Committee member Wasim Aftab. staff report/daily times monitor

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