HYDERABAD, June 10: Tension prevails in the Pretabad area following a June 6 clash which left a man dead and over a dozen others injured.

Zeeshan, son of Liaquat Qureshi, was killed and his two cousins were injured in the clash between the Qureshis and the Arains. The other injured were passersby.

Asif Qureshi, a cousin of Zeeshan, has been admitted to a Karachi hospital because of his critical condition.

An uneasy clam prevails in Mohajir Masjid area and residents are fearful of a recurrence of violence if the warring groups do not reconcile, but the Qureshi elders reject the apprehensions.

The two communities are considered to be electoral rivals, especially in local government polls.

A contingent of police has been deployed in the areas of the Qureshis, and an armoured personnel carrier (APC) guards the houses of the Arains who had allegedly attacked the Qureshis following a brawl.

“We fear that there will be a repeat of violence if the authorities and other people concerned don’t bring about a truce between the two families. The body language of the rivals indicates they will retaliate if things are not settled,” said a resident, Shakeel Qureshi, who is a former president of the District Cricket Association of Hyderabad.

The Arain men have left their homes and only women are believed to be there.

The Qureshis say they had been attacked by Azam Arain and others after a minor dispute.

“I was in my shop when I received a call from my family that they had been attacked and I rushed there,” said bearded Haji Abdul Aziz Arain alias Jeejjo who deals in cotton waste. “No, it is not an Arains-Qureshis clash, but it has caused panic in our area.”

He is not sure what actually led to violence that day.

The Qureshis make conflicting claims abut the cause of violence. “When the Arains struck, I thought they were there to commit robbery. They had their faces covered and they started firing (at me),” said Zeeshan Qureshi alias Kalu, who received bullet injuries on a hand.

But his statement was not supported by his relative Bilal. “Azam was often seen outside our house. Zeeshan objected which led to a brawl,” said Bilal. He alleged that the Arains were involved in a number of criminal activities.

But Abdul Wahab, complainant of one of the two cases lodged with Pinyari police, said Zeeshan was checking a water pumping machine when Azam arrived there on a motorbike and something happened that caused an altercation. Azam was slapped by Zeeshan.

“If we had any intention to fight, our boys must have been equipped with weapons,” he said.

The Arains had even manhandled women in the house. There were several marks of bullets on the front door of Zeeshan’s house and inner walls, said Wahab.

Wahab and Abdul Majeed Qureshi, paternal uncle of Zeeshan, have lodged two separate FIRs against the Arains, including Tauqeer, his brothers Azam and Rashid and his brothers-in-law Shahid and Mehboob, and a resident of the area, Abid. No one has been arrested so far.

Local people recalled that the Arains had attacked Kalu’s house over a controversy and returned to their area. Local MPA Akram Adil Qureshi and police reached there and a large number of people gathered.

The MPA was there to help diffuse the situation. When he was going to talk to the Arains, a large number of people, including angry Qureshis, joined him.

But he had to run for shelter when someone opened fire. “It led to an exchange of fire. No one knows who fired first, but there was an exchange of fire between the two groups, injuring people present in the area,” said a number of residents.

Nizam Arain, who is an influential person and district PML-F president, has resigned as president of the Arain Welfare Society in protest. “Since I couldn’t control it I quit,” he said. He also feared a recurrence of violence if matter was not amicably resolved.

“I believe that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement has considerable influence here. Their MPA tried hard to defuse the situation on that day. There has to be an amicable settlement before the tension turns into a conflict,” he said.

However, Tauqeer Arain, a nominated accused, strongly rejects claims of the rivals. He is in hiding. He blames Zeeshan for the clash. “It was his immoral behaviour that caused the incident. “My younger brothers Azam and Rashid were passing through the area on a bike. They had gold ornaments and some cash when Zeeshan stopped them, infuriating Azam,” he told Dawn on phone.

While returning, he said, they had been fired upon and then it was a free for all.

SHO of Pinyari police station Abrar Hussain has been replaced by SSP Ahmed Qureshi.

According to Abdul Majeed Qureshi, SHO Abrar Hussain had asked them to help find the accused. “We said it is the job of police to arrest them.”