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Bombs rock Karachi
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A NIGHT of violence in the Pakistani city of Karachi was followed by two bomb blasts on Wednesday that killed one person and wounded two, police and witnesses said.
The blasts, in the up market Clifton and Defence areas, came amid tight security as a one-day strike gripped Karachi and major towns and cities throughout the southern province of Sindh, forcing an almost complete shutdown.
"We have confirmed reports there is a bomb blast in which a person died,'' a police official said of the first explosion. Karachi bomb squad chief Moin-uddin reported a second "low-intensity device'' exploded near a fast-food shop, wounding one person and smashing windows.
Police said the dead person, originally thought to be a bomber, was a drug addict who had an explosive device placed in his bag while he slept. Doctors said one of the wounded was in stable condition and the other suffered superficial injuries.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the biggest political party in Karachi, and the Jiye Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) issued the strike call to protest against government clampdowns on political activities and a failure to solve a chronic water shortage.
Pakistan has suffered an acute rain shortage -- especially in the key agricultural province of Sindh -- for the last four years.
MQM officials said the strike was successful and blamed the violence on state agencies out to discredit strike supporters.
Scare tactics
Police said the overnight violence had helped force people to observe the shutdown.
"We have arrested 238 people in different parts of the city on public order offences,'' said a senior police official, adding seven had been caught trying to burn public vehicles.
He said security forces had raided houses belonging to known MQM and JSQM activists, and there had been shooting into the air to scare people.
On Wednesday, groups of armed paramilitary personnel patrolled Karachi streets and most shops, schools and businesses remained shuttered and few buses were running.
'Extremists create havoc'
A senior Karachi city official said extremists wanted to create havoc.
Most banks and government offices were open, while traders on the Karachi stock exchange said business had continued although attendance was low. Work at Karachi's Port Qasim was hit with 70 per cent of dock labourers staying at home, officials said.
The strike call came after police used teargas and batons to crush a series of protests against the water crisis, the latest being in Karachi on Monday.
The military government has banned all public rallies and demonstrations and security forces have arrested thousands of political workers over the past month.
(SD-Agencies)
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