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desired destinations. These roadblocks literally trapped participants, when firing started, as
they were unable to move forward. The roadblocks were steel containers, heavy goods
vehicles, and parked buses with deflated tires; some of these roadblocks were manned by
MQM activists (COD) whilst others were unmanned (Aisha Bawany).
It is evident from these three incidents that there was military-style organization among
the armed activists. These activists either took sniper positions in surrounding buildings and
high points (such as bridges), used sophisticated weapons such as hand grenades (Malir), and
again used roadblocks in ways that prevented people from moving freely. There is also some
evidence of selected targeting of political activists, as many prominent leaders of PPP and
ANP were not injured despite their proximity to the firing. This evidence suggests that the
armed activists were well prepared and perhaps given specific instructions. Lastly, emergency
services were prevented from evacuating injured persons immediately. Their assistance could
clearly have prevented deaths, and dead bodies were seen lying on the streets for several
hours.
The other minor ambushes did not seem to be as planned as the aforementioned ones.
MQM supporters returning from a rally in the Patel Para neighborhood were fired at. Patel
Para is largely a Pashtun neighborhood, and it is suspected that Pashtun armed activists fired
upon the MQM rally. This subsequently turned into an armed clash between the rival groups.
There were similar incidents between rival groups in the west and north-west areas of
Karachi. There was minimal police presence in these areas, and most of the violence was
related to the passing by of political rallies through areas dominated by rival groups. Each
rival group blamed the other for firing upon them or preventing them from getting to their final
destination. Each rival group nonetheless resorted to violence.
3.3 Armed clashes and cross-fire
HRCP
The armed clashes witnessed on May 12 were mostly a result of the ambushes that
morphed into clashes and crossfire between rival armed groups. There were two distinct types
of armed clashes on that day. The first is the aforementioned metamorphosis of the ambushes
on rival groups and second is the conflict that spread to different neighborhoods. While
ambushes lasted for 2 to 6 hours, neighborhood violence lasted for several days..
The neighborhood violence, particularly along ethnic fault lines in the city, erupted into
mob violence, such as setting a hotel on fire in Qasba Colony or setting the Baans’s 15 shops
on fire in the Lyari neighborhood. This subsequently resulted in armed clashes and cross firing
between rival groups. There are many reports among the different neighborhoods of Pashtun
and Urdu-speaking residents being targeted, gruesome killings, and general lawlessness with
free-firing zones. Again, this lasted onto the next day and in a few cases the day after under
minimal security presence.
3.4 Abduction and execution-style killings
There were several cases of abductions in various areas from armed political activists
preventing lawyers entering or leaving the Courts, to targeted abductions leading to torture
and/or execution. Although these abductions were conducted in different manners, ultimately
rival groups operated under a similar manifesto.
The most prominent case is MQM armed activists holding lawyers literally hostage at
the City, Malir, and Sindh High Courts. Although this is not typically considered abduction,
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