New Year celebratory firing leaves 22 injured in Karachi

KARACHI: Despite warnings of registration of attempt to murder FIRs and announcements made by the Sindh government and law enforcement agencies of a ban on aerial firing, at least 22 people, including women and children, were injured in New Year celebratory firing in Karachi.

Officials and hospital sources confirmed 22 injured people were admitted to Jinnah, Abbasi Shaheed and Civil hospitals. Law enforcers arrested more than 10 miscreants, who were involved in aerial firing.

According to hospital sources, the Civil Hospital received eight injured, four injured were brought to Jinnah Hospital, and 10 injured citizens, including women and children, were admitted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment.

The areas from where the injured persons were taken to the hospitals included Saddar, Garden, Osmanabad Panjwani Plaza, Lighthouse, Raja Mansion, Hussainabad, Board Office in Nazaimabad (where a minor child got injured), Nazimabad Bridge, Liaquatabad No. 4, Five Star Chowrangi, Kharadar, Kashmir Colony, Dhoraji Chowrangi, Expo Centre (where a woman was injured), Al-Asif Square, ICI Bridge Soomro Gali, Landhi Future Colony (where a woman was seriously injured), Nagan Chowrangi (where a woman injured), Qasba Colony’s Kati Pahari and Water Pump, Gulberg. A minor boy was injured in aerial firing near North Nazimabad’s Board office. The injured child has been identified as Haider, son of Ibrahim.

A youth injured in firing at KDA Chowrangi in North Nazimabad has been identified as 20-year-old Shahmir, son of Khursheed Alam. A 22-year-old man, identified as Naveed son of Sher Hussain, was wounded in Hussainabad. Bedal, 36, son of Shah, was injured in Nazimabad’s Naya Golimar area, while in Liaquatabad No. 4, 35-year-old Adeel, son of Nisar, suffered bullet injury.

An official said the police led a crackdown against miscreants who were involved in aerial firing, and during their operations they arrested more than 10 suspects in the city, including from Gulshan and Korangi areas.

He added that they had already sent messages on different platforms and barred the people from resorting to aerial firing, but they did not take it seriously and now they had to face the law. As per directions from Additional IG Karachi Javed Alam Odho, the miscreants will be booked under attempt to murder charges of the Pakistan Penal Code.

describing the velocity and impact of the aerial firing bullet, the official said that the “speed of a bullet as it comes down after aerial firing is 300mph and it takes just 100mph for a bullet to pierce the human skin.”