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for a strike, and youths belonging to opposition parties (mostly PPP) went around the area<br />
trying to enforce the strike. There are conflicting reports about what happened next.<br />
According to some sources, the police and the Rangers appeared on the scene and attempted<br />
to force residents to open their shops. There were skirmishes which led to firing on the part <strong>of</strong><br />
the Rangers, in which two minors (one aged 10 and the other aged 17) lost their lives. 93<br />
Another account suggests that the Rangers used their short-lived “shoot-on-sight” orders to<br />
fire on youths who were trying to enforce the strike. 94 The <strong>of</strong>ficial account, however, is at<br />
variance with both these stories. It holds that the deaths were caused in the cross-fire <strong>of</strong> an<br />
ongoing gang-war in Lyari and that the Rangers did not fire upon the people. 95<br />
2.12 Other flashpoints<br />
Violent incidents were reported from other parts <strong>of</strong> the city besides the main<br />
flashpoints identified above. There were violent protests in the Sohrab Goth area, which is the<br />
main entry point into the city for traffic from upcountry, from the afternoon <strong>of</strong> 12 May<br />
onwards. Roads were blocked and vehicles stoned by supporters <strong>of</strong> Pashtun ethnic<br />
organizations. Passengers were forced to disembark from vehicles and were beaten. While no<br />
serious casualties were reported it is suspected that people thought to belong to the Urduspeaking<br />
community were targeted in particular. In the Federal B Area the funeral procession<br />
<strong>of</strong> an MQM activist Babar Changezi turned violent, and a number <strong>of</strong> Pashtun-owned shops<br />
including a bamboo yard were set alight.<br />
On 13 May, opposition party supporters protesting against the May 12 events<br />
attempted to block the roads at Quaidabad. Saif-ur-Rehman aged 18 was killed by police<br />
firing on demonstrators. 96 ANP leaders claimed that the youth was a member <strong>of</strong> their party.<br />
His family members reported that Saif was wounded and died as a result <strong>of</strong> delay in taking him<br />
to the hospital. When they approached a Ranger’s contingent for help they were told to “take<br />
him to Jinnah Hospital” which is over 20 km away. 97<br />
A dead body was found in a sack in Port Qasim Road with a short note saying:<br />
“mukhbari ka anjam” or “informer’s end”. 98 However, the area police, quoting the relatives <strong>of</strong><br />
the deceased, stated that the murder was a result <strong>of</strong> personal enmity. 99<br />
There were attacks on MQM <strong>of</strong>fices in a number <strong>of</strong> outlying areas <strong>of</strong> Karachi, and in other<br />
towns and cities <strong>of</strong> Sindh, in Quetta, and in a number <strong>of</strong> cities in Punjab. These attacks did not<br />
lead to any deaths or injuries.<br />
3. Patterns <strong>of</strong> Violence<br />
3.1 Roadblocks and sieges<br />
HRCP<br />
The Sindh High Court, City Courts, and Malir District Court were under siege by<br />
MQM activists on May 12. There are many detailed accounts from lawyers, attempting to<br />
enter these buildings or already present, <strong>of</strong> political activists violently enforcing the siege.<br />
Some <strong>of</strong> these political activists were reported to be armed and they beat lawyers and/or<br />
attempted to kidnap them. The siege went so far that activists set the Ladies’ Bar Room on<br />
93<br />
Dawn 15 May (e).<br />
94<br />
Dawn 15 May (d).<br />
95<br />
Dawn 15 May (e), The News 15 May (c).<br />
96<br />
Ummat 14 May (a), Dawn 14 May (g).<br />
97<br />
Express 14 May (a).<br />
98<br />
Express 15 May: (i)<br />
99<br />
The News 15 May: (c)<br />
24