Lyari gang war flares up again

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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This is an area of Karachi where gang wars are common, this time between these two known groups that are at each others throats for some time and also armed with heavy artillery with rocket launchers, hand grenades, rifles, Kalashnikovs, sub-machine guns.. etc

Lyari is one of the poorest of Karachi’s neighbourhoods and has been torn apart by the gang war between the Arshad Pappu and Rehman Dakait groups, both of Baloch descent.

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KARACHI: At least two passersby were killed while nine, including two women, sustained bullet injuries during a flare up of the gang war in Lyari that went on for many hours on Tuesday, in which the police were forced by political party leadership to halt action against the gangsters and return quietly, Daily Times learnt.

According to sources, Baba Ladla, first commander of the Rehman Dakait group, tried to take over Ali Mohammad Mohalla, an area occupied by Ghaffar Zikri, first commander of the Arshad Pappu group, launching war between the two groups.

Tension prevailed in the area and routine life was suspended for nearly four hours. Following the news, heavy police contingents arrived and engaged the gangsters.

Lyari Town SP Raja Omer Khattab told Daily Times that he and his team went to Eidu Lane, a Dakait-dominated area and Ali Mohammad Mohalla, a Pappu-dominated area, to vacate all dens in these areas. Members of both groups fired at the police party when they arrived, and the police returned fire. Khattab claimed that the police had barely entered the gangster-occupied areas when they started firing in other areas of the Lyari Town including Cheel Chowk, Singu Lane, Miran Naka and others, as a distraction to shift police focus. However, Khattab confirmed just the one casualty and nine injured, including two women, in other areas of Lyari by the gangsters’ fire.

There were reports that Baba Ladla was killed and that Rehman Dakait sustained bullet injures in rival fire. Khattab said that he also heard this news but could not comment. There was also information that a number of members of the Zikri group were injured during the fire. It is unfortunate however, that all the injured and the dead were innocent bystanders who had no connection to either the gangsters or the police whatsoever.

There were also reports of injury suffered by Jabbar Jhengu, second commander of the Rehman Dakait group, but the officers concerned did not have any information. They said they had heard the news but were not in any position to comment.

The victims were taken to Civil Hospital, Karachi, where the dead were identified as Mohammad Saleem, 55, a bus driver, and Syed Fayyaz, 40, a pedestrian. The injured were identified as Jamila Begum, 50, Amna, 19, Mohammad Amir, 20, Ibrahim, 45, Abdullah, 55, Zamin Khan, 35, Mohammad Bhutta, 28 and Shakir. The doctors declared Shakir to be in critical condition.

Interestingly, when things got dirty, the armored carrier personnel was once again forced to escape to save their lives by pushing their way out.

Sources added that while the police wanted to continue action against the gangsters, they were compelled to hold fire and back off when political leaders applied pressure on their officers.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C06%5C18%5Cstory_18-6-2008_pg12_1

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Re: Lyari gang war flares up again

Who are these guys? Are they affiliated/have some backing that keeps them from ending up behind bars?

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Re: Lyari gang war flares up again

pakistani gangs! ROFLMAO, next time i go pakistan i want to see a pakistani gangster. never seen a paki gangster!

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Re: Lyari gang war flares up again

Listen Kiddo! Pakistani gangs don’t play with 9z like elsewhere. I suggest you stay as far away from a Pakistani Gangstah as possible. Cuz homie won’t mind bustin a douse up in dat motha. cha know wha im sayin

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Two local gangs, of Baloch descent , Akhtar Mengal(former Chief Minister of Balochistan) had tried to bring some sense amongst them asking them to lay off their arms but to no results. Police is scared to go in these areas as they are heavily armed and ruthless killers.

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Thanks for the insight Saad. That’s a sad sad state of lawlessness when Police is afraid to go in a neighborhood… :help:

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Re: Lyari gang war flares up again

In before the anti mohajabi rant. :)

p.s. thanks for the insight. I had some idea, but this clarified some stuff

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Re: Lyari gang war flares up again

“Pappu yaar, thung na kar”…you will see the written on the back of some trucks and buses in Karachi. :wink:

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Re: Lyari gang war flares up again

The gangs have now started working out of Lyai as well. Many abuctions cases for ransom have been reported recently.

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Yes and it's unfortunate that police can not take action against them and leaders have no leverage in dealing with them.

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Re: Lyari gang war flares up again

I remember hearing somewhere that one of these groups had a deal with civil administration and took responsibility to deal with their differences in a peaceful manner. It was on GEo Capital Talk I guess, and Hamid Meer was mocking that now a gangster has given responsibility to keep law & order in place. :hehe:

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There is definitely evident truth to that. Just this morning, the gang war spilled out in my kitchen, all the way on the American East Coast, where both of my birds fought screaming battles for the right to idly stand on the coveted wood plank.

please make dua as there is fear that violence my spread to other parts of the kitchen floor, where ants have been seen recently. :(

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Hain:smack:

Answerin the phone ..
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Re: Lyari gang war flares up again

Isn't this the area where PPP always wins?

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Re: Lyari gang war flares up again

It is off course and whenever PPP comes in power, it determines that I would turn it into mini Paris.

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Re: Lyari gang war flares up again

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Re: Lyari gang war flares up again

PPP has screwed over the Lyari area so many times, yet they continue to vote for them.

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Re: Lyari gang war flares up again

Reminds me of the rivalry between Biggie and Tupac. Do Pakistani gangsters rap too?

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Plus some of Lyari's residents are Makrani-Sheedi origin.

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Re: Lyari gang war flares up again

KARACHI: Into the heart of Lyari’s darkness

S. Raza Hassan ventures into the gang war infested badlands of Lyari.

http://dawn.com/2008/07/04/images/local01.jpg

KARACHI, July 3: Jamia Masjid Maqbool is perhaps a unique mosque. Unlike other mosques of the city, its iron gates remain locked and only open five times a day.

The grill doors are opened at prayer time and after the completion of prayer, the mosque is locked again. No one hangs around in the street where the mosque is located off Slaughterhouse Road in Lyari, as it is located in the middle of the war zone where the men of Rehman Dakait and Ghaffar Zikri battle it out.

A few days ago a passer-by fell victim to gunfire near the mosque when gangsters opened fire from the narrow alleyways, a local resident told this reporter. As the area is devoid of any commercial activity, it remains silent when the guns are not in use.

In the nearby narrow streets, children come out and stand at the corners of narrow alleyways whenever a police armoured personnel carrier (APC) appears.

“Armed youths take up positions behind these kids in case the police decide to come into the narrow streets,” said a senior police officer of Lyari.

Ahmed Shah Bukhari Road marks the dividing line between the areas controlled by Rehman Dakait and Ghaffar Zikri, the two main gangsters said to be behind the Lyari gang war.

A visit to the affected area shows that even in daytime, the streets present a deserted look and all the small shops are closed. In the narrow streets where rival gangs have taken up positions, they have dug up trenches to trap anyone daring to intrude onto their turf. These trenches are a stark reminder of the Karachi operation of the nineties, as similar trenches were also dug on the streets leading up to the notorious Khaji Ground in the now defunct district central.

At several spots the police have tried to fill up the trenches, but each time the gangsters dig them up again. “Interestingly, these trenches are not visible, as they have been camouflaged in an attempt to trap anyone trying to enter,” an officer explained while pointing out a trench hidden by a pile of garbage in the area opposite Phool Patti Lane.

Police have strict orders not to move into the narrow streets, especially at night, no matter how urgent the matter.

“The troubled area where the gang warfare is taking place hardly constitutes five or six per cent of entire Lyari,” remarked a local councillor, adding that the total population is somewhere close to 14,000.

A change in tactics

Since the formation of the new government, Rehman Dakait has changed his tactics and has also started sponsoring demonstrations in front of the Karachi Press Club against his rival gang. On the other hand, he also keeps a close watch on his opponents on the streets of Lyari.

Ghaffar Zikri, who is the front-man of Arshad Pappu, on the other hand, rules over the Zikri Mohallah with an iron fist.

“It would not come as a surprise for the people of Lyari if Abdul Rehman, better known as Dakait, is elected nazim of Lyari Town,” observed a professor residing in Lyari. “Actually, it is a proxy war that is taking place here,” he remarked.

In case of an offensive launched by the police, Zikri has been known to use women and children for cover.

There is a park by the name of Maulvi Usman Park on Tannery Road, yet no child dares to play there as it is situated in the no man’s land which divides the respective territory of Rehman and Ghaffar Zikri. On this stretch of road the traffic remains slim while pedestrians also avoid going through the area.

Just behind Maulvi Usman Park there are two V-shaped narrow streets. Both the streets were totally deserted and the buildings were pockmarked with bullet holes.

Both streets are ruled by armed gangsters, where they have taken up positions. In close proximity, the police have occupied a building and turned it into a police post.

Standing close to the Juna Masjid – another landmark of Lyari – one can see flags of different political parties.

Flags of the Pakistan People’s Party were seen fluttering from some rooftops, while banners of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the proscribed Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan were also visible from buildings on Shah Beg Lane.

A visit to the strife-torn area gives one the impression that in actuality, the gangsters are using the symbols and flags of these parties as a cover. On the other hand, even the PPP – which considers Lyari its stronghold – seems disinterested in the festering issue of gang warfare in the area.

“Merely posting a competent police officer in Lyari is not enough. Proper resources and political will are essential to finding a solution to the problem,” a senior law enforcement official observed.

Inside the APC

This reporter got a chance to visit the sensitive areas of Lyari inside a police APC.

From the inside, the vehicle looked like it had seen action in the Second World War. “Not just any driver can handle this APC,” an officer remarked. “A sudden plunge can break its shaft, which makes it immovable,” he explained.

“This is the fittest APC we have got,” he added. The vehicle had an air-conditioning system, but it seemed to be only for psychological support. After over an hour’s drive into the narrow streets, the vehicle was filled with body odour and the smell of diesel.

The remaining APCs are in even worse condition and cannot be relied upon during hostilities.

http://dawn.com/2008/07/04/local1.htm