=> KARACHI, Dec 18: The fierce gun battle between wor
KARACHI, Dec 18: The fierce gun battle between workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP), which resulted in the death of a man and injuries to three others on Abul Hasan Ispahani Road on Monday, has set alarm bells ringing in the police quarters, sparking fears of more violence in certain city areas during the run-up to the Jan 8 election as well as on polling day.
A senior officer shared the police assessment with Dawn, saying that they had marked more than a dozen areas in the city which could plunge into ethnic riots involving the same parties and needed tight security mainly on Jan 8.
“There are areas like Abul Hasan Ispahani Road, which are being focused upon,” said the official seeking anonymity. “Areas like Quaidabad, Site, Baldia, Banaras Chowk and a few parts of Shah Faisal Colony have been put under surveillance after Monday’s clash.”
He said the election campaign in those areas was also threatened after the MQM-ANP clash and there was little chance of reconciliation between the two groups. However, he ruled out the possibility of violence to the extent that was seen in the 2004 and 2006 by-elections.
In the first by-elections in 2004 on two national assembly seats nine people, mostly opposition party workers, were killed while in the elections in 2006 on a single constituency several clashes between the rival groups were witnessed.
“Parties such as the Jamaat-i-Islami and the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (Haqiqi) are out of the polls due to a boycott. So the situation will not be as tense as it was in 2002, 2004 and 2006,” he said.
“But still the situation is not satisfactory and needs concentration from the police and other security agencies.”
A man, stated to be a pedestrian, was killed and three others were wounded when an armed clash broke out between ANP and MQM workers on the main Abul Hasan Ispahani Road on Monday evening. The situation led to the closure of businesses in the area and the more than two-hour long clashes left the area people shocked and terrified.
The cause of the clash was not established but some say the conflict between the two groups erupted when a couple of MQM activists were roughed up at Iqra Apartments, allegedly by activists of the ANP when they were hoisting their party flags.
Eyewitnesses also suggested that ANP workers were targeted allegedly by MQM activists when they were hoisting party flags, which triggered the severe gun battle between the two sides.
However, the police authorities are not very much interested in counting the reasons behind the incident. The high-ups are more concerned about the peaceful elections process, which they seem is a little difficult in some areas.
Police fears
“It has really sounded an alarm,” said Azhar Ali Farooqi, the capital city police officer (CCPO). “There are areas which we have been focusing on mainly after the fresh incident for tight security during the election campaign and on polling day.”
Without identifying such flashpoint areas, Mr Farooqi said the security measures had been tightened in those localities. He agreed that the ethnic element could cause a serious law and order problem during the elections campaign.
“So we have also approached the political parties at their highest level to seek their cooperation and to ask them to exercise restraint, particularly during the election campaign,” he added.
However, the CCPO’s request is likely to go unheeded, as the very next day of the Abul Hasan Ispahani Road incident the two rival parities traded serious allegations and demanded legal action in their favour.
Allegations
“A kidnap attempt was made on one of our workers and later others were fired upon,” said a statement of the MQM Rabita Committee. “We demand that the Sindh governor and the caretaker chief minister take notice of this act of terrorism and order arrest of those behind the incident.”
As the Rabita Committee appealed to its workers to stay peaceful, the ANP leadership warned the government of ‘bloodshed’ on polling day if “the tolerance level” of its opponents “remained so low”.
“We have demanded that the government deploy armed forces in and outside the polling stations,” said Amin Khattak, a spokesman for the ANP. “The whole city should be declared sensitive in terms of law and order, so the opposition parties could safely carry on their campaigns.”
He said the town administrations were involved in polling campaigns throughout the city coupled with a violent campaign by the ruling party, which had further damaged the prospect of transparent elections.
Source: Dawn
Date:12/19/2007
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