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Troops Told to Shoot Rioters as Death Toll Mounts in Karachi    

    27 Killed, Dozens Wounded as Pakistan's Crisis Erupts
    By Peter Beaumont
    The Observer UK

    Sunday 13 May 2007

Gun battles on Karachi streets as chief justice is trapped at airport.

    At least 27 people were killed and dozens more wounded in the city of Karachi yesterday as Pakistan's political crisis escalated into fierce gun battles.

    The crisis, sparked by President Pervez Musharraf's suspension of the country's chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, on 9 March, exploded into lethal clashes on the streets of Karachi when Chaudhry tried to visit the city for a political rally of his supporters.

    The suspension of Chaudhry over allegations of 'misconduct' has outraged the judiciary and the opposition, and rapidly turned into the most serious challenge to Musharraf's authority since he seized power in 1999 in a bloodless coup.

    The crisis coincides with the run-up to a general election and an anticipated attempt by Musharraf, a close ally of the US, to secure another term. Analysts say Musharraf's main motive in seeking the removal of the independent-minded Chaudhry is to have a more pliable man in place in case of a constitutional challenge to his plans.

    The chief justice has been outspoken in his criticism of the government and has made a number of judgments that have irritated the government.

    As Musharraf yesterday ruled out declaring a state of emergency, hospital officials in Karachi said that at least 27 people had died in the violence and 55 were wounded.

    Television pictures showed men with AK-47 assault rifles firing from behind cars. A man with a neck wound was shown crying in a bus and another wounded man lay gasping in a pool of his own blood.

    The gun battles broke out as Chaudhry arrived at Karachi airport, for what organisers hoped would be the largest in two months of rallies by lawyers and opposition parties protesting at his suspension, after ignoring requests from provincial officials to postpone his visit because of fears of bloodshed.

    Opposition activists accused supporters of a pro-government party, the Mutahida Qami Movement (MQM), of attacking them with batons and gunfire as they attempted to greet the judge at the airport.

    Witnesses described MQM supporters calling for ammunition and firing from buildings, reportedly at supporters of the Pakistan's People's Party and Jamaat-e-Islami while opposition supporters were firing back. Later, a senior MQM leader, Farooq Sattar, said four of the party's supporters died in the clash.

    Chaudhry had earlier declined an offer from authorities to travel to the venue of a planned downtown rally by helicopter and so was stranded at Karachi airport - as were hundreds of passengers from earlier flights. He later abandoned his efforts to enter the city.

    Wasim Akhtar, an MQM official with the provincial government, urged Chaudhry to return to Islamabad to avoid further violence. The MQM is a partner in a coalition ruling Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital.

    Arshad Zubairi, chief executive of the private TV network Aaj, said that its building elsewhere in the city had been fired on by MQM supporters who wanted them to stop airing live footage of the unrest.

    The government's failure to contain the unrest in Karachi, despite the presence of 15,000 security forces, will deepen the political turmoil gripping Pakistan.

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    Troops Told to Shoot Rioters as Death Toll Mounts in Karachi
    By Rachel Shields
    The Independent UK

    Monday 14 May 2007

    Pakistan's government authorised paramilitary troops to shoot anyone involved in serious violence yesterday as the crisis triggered by the dismissal of Pakistan's top judge took an ominous and bloody turn.

    Seven more people were killed yesterday, bringing the death toll from a weekend of violence to 41. President Pervez Musharraf suspended the judge, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, in March but he has since become a focus for protesters trying to end military rule.

    The BBC's correspondent in Karachi said five of those killed on Sunday were kidnapped and executed. One of them was a worker from the pro-Musharraf MQM party. Two more were reportedly tortured and then shot in the head.

    Funeral processions were accompanied by gun battles, ambulance crews were attacked, and at least two people died in clashes between traditional rivals in Karachi.

    Fighting between the Pashtuns, and Urdu-speakers linked to the MQM raised the spectre of a return to ethnic bloodshed in a port city of 15 million people that serves as the hub of Pakistan's economy.

    The violence marked a serious escalation in a crisis that began with President Musharraf ousting the head of the supreme court on 9 March, and which has hardened opposition to plans for the general, a key US ally, to extend his rule.

    Rallies timed for a visit by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry on Saturday sparked gunfights and clashes between supporters and opponents of the government that left corpses in the streets. Officials said a security force of 15,000 was deployed in the city on Saturday but there was no sign that they had intervened to stop the violence. Opposition parties blamed the president and the MQM for the clashes.

    Minister of State for Information Tariq Azeem Khan said it was too early to say who was responsible.

    The Sindh Home Secretary Ghulam Muhammad Mohtarem said 3,000 extra paramilitary rangers were being called in and that they were authorised to shoot to counter any "major breakdown of law and order".