Election violence leaves at least 41 dead in Karachi

Election violence leaves at least 41 dead in Karachi

2010-10-18 20:32:58 GMT+7 (ICT)

KARACHI, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- At least 41 people were killed during the weekend as Pakistanis hit the polls to elect a new provincial politician to the PS-94 Karachi seat, local media reported. Awami National Party's (ANP) has decided to boycott the election.

In August, the murder of MQM lawmaker Raza Haider was followed by violent riots that resulted in the death of at least 100 people. Residents headed to Sunday's polls to vote and replace Haider.

There are 133,150 registered voters in the constituency; of them there are 80,019 men and 53,131 women and 86 polling stations were established for the by-polls with 287 polling booths.

The Express Tribune reported that local police have arrested 61 suspects so far after two days of violence that hit Karachi, some which was related to the elections. On Saturday, cars and buses were set on fire and soon after a series of "targeted killings" were carried out throughout the city of Karachi.

"We cannot say whether all the killings were politically motivated or some gangs were involved because the killings took place in different parts of the city and were not confined to the area where the elections were being held," Fayyza Leghari, Karachi's police chief said.

SAMAA News reported that ANP had submitted an adjournment motion in the Upper House against the killing spree. The adjournment motion was moved by Haji Muhammad Adeel, Zahid Khan and Afrasyab Khattak of ANP.

"Had the government deployed army to supervise the by-election in Karachi, this bloodbath would have been averted," ANP said, adding that the unilateral election should be called a selection, not election.

In addition, the party called for a debate on the role of the government and its Election Commission in Sunday's by-election in Karachi. The Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) on Sunday declared victory in Orangi town.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik has directed Rangers to improve security, ordering them to patrol sensitive areas and to take action without any discrimination as a series of murders have stained Pakistan's most populated city. Malik has also appealed to political leaders to be patient and cooperate with law enforcement agencies.

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