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for a strike, and youths belonging to opposition parties (mostly PPP) went around the area
trying to enforce the strike. There are conflicting reports about what happened next.
According to some sources, the police and the Rangers appeared on the scene and attempted
to force residents to open their shops. There were skirmishes which led to firing on the part of
the Rangers, in which two minors (one aged 10 and the other aged 17) lost their lives. 93
Another account suggests that the Rangers used their short-lived “shoot-on-sight” orders to
fire on youths who were trying to enforce the strike. 94 The official account, however, is at
variance with both these stories. It holds that the deaths were caused in the cross-fire of an
ongoing gang-war in Lyari and that the Rangers did not fire upon the people. 95
2.12 Other flashpoints
Violent incidents were reported from other parts of the city besides the main
flashpoints identified above. There were violent protests in the Sohrab Goth area, which is the
main entry point into the city for traffic from upcountry, from the afternoon of 12 May
onwards. Roads were blocked and vehicles stoned by supporters of Pashtun ethnic
organizations. Passengers were forced to disembark from vehicles and were beaten. While no
serious casualties were reported it is suspected that people thought to belong to the Urduspeaking
community were targeted in particular. In the Federal B Area the funeral procession
of an MQM activist Babar Changezi turned violent, and a number of Pashtun-owned shops
including a bamboo yard were set alight.
On 13 May, opposition party supporters protesting against the May 12 events
attempted to block the roads at Quaidabad. Saif-ur-Rehman aged 18 was killed by police
firing on demonstrators. 96 ANP leaders claimed that the youth was a member of their party.
His family members reported that Saif was wounded and died as a result of delay in taking him
to the hospital. When they approached a Ranger’s contingent for help they were told to “take
him to Jinnah Hospital” which is over 20 km away. 97
A dead body was found in a sack in Port Qasim Road with a short note saying:
“mukhbari ka anjam” or “informer’s end”. 98 However, the area police, quoting the relatives of
the deceased, stated that the murder was a result of personal enmity. 99
There were attacks on MQM offices in a number of outlying areas of Karachi, and in other
towns and cities of Sindh, in Quetta, and in a number of cities in Punjab. These attacks did not
lead to any deaths or injuries.
3. Patterns of Violence
3.1 Roadblocks and sieges
HRCP
The Sindh High Court, City Courts, and Malir District Court were under siege by
MQM activists on May 12. There are many detailed accounts from lawyers, attempting to
enter these buildings or already present, of political activists violently enforcing the siege.
Some of these political activists were reported to be armed and they beat lawyers and/or
attempted to kidnap them. The siege went so far that activists set the Ladies’ Bar Room on
93
Dawn 15 May (e).
94
Dawn 15 May (d).
95
Dawn 15 May (e), The News 15 May (c).
96
Ummat 14 May (a), Dawn 14 May (g).
97
Express 14 May (a).
98
Express 15 May: (i)
99
The News 15 May: (c)
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