At least two people were killed and nine others were left wounded after deadly clashes between two groups in Pakistan’s Karachi on Sunday, Geo News reported, citing officials.
The casualties resulted when two armed groups opened fire on each other in Golimar area. Some outraged members set vehicles on fire and blocked both lanes of the main artery leading to Nazimabad from Lasbella.
Karachi Assistant Inspector General of Police, Javed Alam Odho said that the situation in the affected area was under control and the Central Superintendent of Police (SSP) was on site.
Meanwhile, West DIG Irfan Baloch stated that the armed groups clashed over the movement of a procession, Geo News reported.
Chief Police Surgeon Sumaiyya Syed, confirmed the number of fatalities, and stated that one body was taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and the other to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital, while the injured were being treated at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).
Sindh Home Minister Zia Lanjar also took stock of the matter and has sought a report on the incident from the Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) and Additional Inspector General (AIG), directing law enforcement agencies to bring the situation under control immediately, as reported by Geo News.
Lanjar further said that no one would be allowed to take the law into their own hands or disturb the law and order situation. He also instructed the authorities to arrest the perpetrators as soon as possible.
Later, the flow of traffic resumed after the law enforcers opened the roads. Earlier on Saturday, two children and a woman were killed, and 13 people, including two policemen, were left injured after a blast occurred in Balochistan’s Pishin district, Dawn reported, citing hospital officials.
The incident at the main market near Surkhab Chowk is the latest in a string of attacks on police officials and checkposts, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Notably, the attacks have escalated after banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) broke a fragile ceasefire agreement with the government in 2022 and vowed to target security forces.
(With Inputs From ANI)