At least 19 people were killed and over 100 including four women were injured in violent clashes between members of rival ethnic groups in Karachi on Saturday and Sunday and police have been ordered to shoot troublemakers on sight.. Apart from human casualties, as many as 20 vehicles were torched, in what appeared to be riots triggered as a result of confrontation between members of two political parties. However, leaders of the two parties—the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Awami National Party— had on Saturday severely criticized the elements responsible for the clashes and distancing themselves from such miscreants had urged their respective members to display restraint. Citizens living in the violence-hit localities accused the law-enforcers of acting as silent spectators while the rioters had a field day disrupting the routine life of the metropolis. Panic gripped almost all parts of the city when reports of clashes and firing started making the rounds. Almost the entire city wore a deserted look soon after dusk and vehicular traffic remained thin and the situation continued till the filing of this report on Sunday. Despite the issuance of “shoot-to-kill” orders by Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza, not a single such miscreant was shot at or dealt with an iron fist. However, on Sunday Pakistan Rangers Sindh claimed to have arrested four men in possession of illegal arms. According to some victims of the violence admitted to various city hospitals, even women were not spared by the rioters. Though the violence and ethnic tension remained restricted to around seven areas of the city, gunshot sound was heard in almost all parts of the city. The City Police chief, Waseem Ahmed, claimed: “Now the situation has improved as we have deployed additional personnel across the city to check any violent incident”. Apart from the violent incidents taking place, rumors making the rounds in the city are playing havoc with the already perturbed citizens and they are avoiding stepping out of their homes. One of the stories that did the rounds in the city pertained to the “slashing” of ears of people belonging to one ethnic group by another. Another was that the people of one ethnic group were filling the ears and noses of their rivals with potent glue. However, these rumors could not be substantiated but have caused fear among the masses. Following reports of violence and casualties in Karachi panic gripped Hyderabad city and people ran homewards and shopkeepers pulled down their shutters.
