So much for Unity, Faith and DISCIPLINE :rolleyes:
Pakistan needs to be saved from pakistanis not from anyone else
KARACHI, Dec 28: More than half a dozen workers of an Italian garments company died when its factory was torched by a group of rioters in the Ibrahim Hyderi area as violence and fear gripped the city for the second consecutive day on Friday.
Seven workers met their deaths out of more than 400 at Masco Exports, situated on the outskirts of the city in the limits of Ibrahim Hyderi police station and near the Korangi Industrial Area, who were inside the factory at the time of the tragic incident early on Friday, when an armed mob stormed the facility and damaged its furniture and fixtures.
Police said the rioters’ action sparked panic among the workers, which included more than 150 women. Though the majority of the workers managed to escape from the factory, their seven colleagues were trapped inside when the production unit was set on fire.
“There is no immediate report about how the incident occurred, but we believe the workers that died in the event had tried to hide inside the factory ignorant of the fact that it was being burnt,” said Inspector Sarwar Hussain, SHO of the Ibrahim Hyderi police station.
“We retrieved seven bodies, including that of a woman, in the evening today (Friday) from inside the factory who are completely burnt and beyond identification. The police have been trying to contact the factory management,” he added.
With production facilities in every country of the region, Masco Exports manages more than $40 million in exports every year from Pakistan. The company, which employees some 3,500 people locally, set up the factory some 10 years ago in the area.Bilal Mullah, President of the Pakistan Ready-made Garments Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association, termed the incident a setback to the overall investment environment, which could lead to foreign capital flight from the country.
Apart from this tragic incident, the city remained in the grip of immense fear while an atmosphere of mourning prevailed on Friday, as more than a dozen people, including policemen, lost their lives in incidents of firing in different areas while more than 400 vehicles were torched in 30 hours of non-stop violence.
The Edhi Foundation, the country’s largest charity, could not escape the terror, as 16 ambulances of the service were damaged or torched in the city. The foundation spokesman said more than 15 armed persons entered the Edhi Village, a shelter for some 1,600 mentally retarded and homeless children on the Super Highway, and ransacked its offices before beating the staff and disabled children.
“While returning from the village after the raid, they set 16 parked ambulances and the administration office on fire,” he added.
Between violence and fear, vandalism prevailed in the city, as armed gangsters kept robbing people on the roads at gunpoint and broke into closed shops, petrol pumps and even some houses.
Authorities confirmed the burning of some 425 vehicles and firing in different areas, as tension prevailed across the city. Karachiites preferred to stay at home to mourn the tragic death of the former prime minister under fear and a poor law and order situation. The officials confirmed that close to 18 branches of different local and foreign banks were set on fire in the prolonged violence while a telephone exchange, a post office and three police stations were attacked by groups of armed youths.
“We have reports of more than 400 vehicles which have been burnt since Thursday evening,” said Azhar Ali Farooqi, Capital City Police Officer. “Similarly, some 18 branches of different banks have been also damaged since Thursday evening. But the intensity of violence is not as severe today (Friday) as it was yesterday,” he said.
http://www.dawn.com/2007/12/29/local1.htm
KARACHI: Rioters hamper hospital services
KARACHI, Dec 28: Although the ongoing violent protests and rioting has considerably brought down the number of patients arriving at various hospitals in the city, they have also badly affected the movement of doctors and paramedics supposed to be on duty in different shifts.
A very thin attendance of doctor, nurses and other staff could make it on Friday hampering the normal service delivery. The worst-hit appeared to be patients admitted to the hospitals as many of them required a constant or periodic check up. Those arriving for emergency treatment have also been suffering due to the absence of a large number of medical staff.
Unfortunately, the staff who somehow managed to reach their place of duty on the second day of mourning for the PPP leader, had to face fury of the emotionally charged activists.
In a similar situation, a group of protesters resorted to pelting stones at the Lyari General Hospital on Friday morning creating panic among the staff, who had to run to safety.
At the JPMC, mobs of angry and shocked protesters had almost forced closure of its emergency and accident department before arrival of several injured people. A few doctors, who were about to take leave after completing their duty, realised their responsibility and agreed to prolong their stay to attend to the cases.
Meanwhile, senior medical professionals at various government hospitals have made a passionate appeal to citizens not to hinder movement of doctors, paramedics and other hospital staff so that the patients requiring immediate and essential medical assistance were not made to suffer.
They noted that activists armed with weapons dared to break into hospital only to create panic, fear and scare among the staff and patients, besides those accompanying the patients.—APP
