Daily Times

KARACHI: At least 18 people, including five women and a minor boy, were wounded in Karachi due to celebratory aerial firing on the New Year’s Eve.

The government of Sindh had imposed Section 144 on aerial firing and riding motorcycles without silencers, however, law enforcement agencies remained fail to control the incidents of aerial firing.

At least 8 injured were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, 6 to Civil Hospital, Karachi, while 5 were rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. A majority of the injured were later shifted after first aid treatment.

As the clock ticks 12, the entire city echoed with the gunshots in clear violation of the orders of the Sindh government. Karachiities celebrated the start of New Year with aerial firing and the victims of the aerial firing were brought to the hospitals from different parts of the city, including Defence, Baghdadi, Garden, Jackson, Mehmoodabad, Korangi, Landhi, Nazimabad, Lyari, Rizvia Society, Gizri, Shirin Jinnah Colony in Clifton and Ibrahim Hyderi despite the heavy deployment, patrolling and snap checking by the Rangers troops and police personnel in entire city.

Those injured included Anmol, daughter of Mumtaz, Abida, 27, daughter of Shahmir, Reema, 34, daughter of Iqbal, Masooma, 18, daughter of Sajid Hussain, Shahjahan, 45, wife of Muhammad Saleem, eight-year-old Munir Kamal, Shahid Ilyas, 19, Tahir Ikram, 35, Sadaqat, 40, Fida, 45, Aftab, 26, Omar Farooq, 26, Abdul Razzak, 30, Zain, 25, Muhammad Afzal, 34, Ahsan Siddiqui, 34 and Zaheer Khan, 28.

Though the Sindh chief minister and home minister had ordered police to take strict action against those resorting to aerial firing, unfortunately the law enforcers failed to control the situation.

Police, however, baton charged youths who had gathered at the Five Star Chowrangi in North Nazimabad to celebrate the New Year.

A massive traffic jam was also reported on the routes leading towards the Sea View as Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had ordered police to allow the citizens to go to the Sea View on the eve of New Year.

Meanwhile, a suspect, namely Naseer was arrested by Taimuria police for allegedly selling firecrackers to the citizens on the eve of New Year. A case has been registered against him and further investigation was underway.

Separately, Azizabad police also arrested a suspect for selling firecrackers to citizens on the eve of New Year. His arrest was the first arrest of the year 2018. Azizabad police also claimed to have recovered a huge cache of firecrackers from his possession.

Moreover, the first FIR of the 2018 was registered at Garden Police Station against an accused, namely Khurram. Police officials said that the arrested accused was a street criminal.

Published in Daily Times, January 2^nd 2018.