KARACHI: After weeks of staying at home as grenades and bullets flew overhead, Rafiq Memon reopened his paan shop in Karachi’s Kalakot recently, almost two weeks after a truce was brokered by Qaumi Awami Tehreek president Ayaz Latif Palijo in the wake of a bloodbath that killed scores of people.

Almost six months ago, gang member Noor Mohammad, aka Baba Ladla, of the now defunct Peoples Amn Committee (PAC) accused another senior member, Zafar Baloch, of siding with paramilitary forces in its ongoing operation, as a result of which his men were being targeted, a PAC member said. A few days later, Zafar Baloch was killed near Bizenjo Chowk by armed men on motorbikes. This resulted in the creation of two splinter groups in Lyari, one headed by Uzair Baloch, the other by Baba Ladla. Since then, both groups have been on a rampage, abducting, killing and harassing residents. Asked why the PAC and its splinter group had chosen him, Palijo said: “I don’t have any petty vested interest in Lyari. I don’t have a business outlet, neither am I an elected member from Karachi. That’s the only probability why they came to me.”

As the news of the ceasefire first filtered out, many heaved a sigh of relief. Nevertheless, people are uncertain.

“My wife asked me to open up shop since staying at home, and listening to gunshots all day and night, aggravated me,” said Memon. “But these people have not agreed on anything, it is just a ceasefire, they may or may not respect it,” he added as he put chhaliya on a betel leaf and packed it.

The surrounding area near Gabol Hall — now renamed the Al-Noorani Community Centre — in Kalakot is packed with cars and rickshaws. Inside the hall, old-time and new PPP activists are attending the funeral of MNA Shahjahan Baloch’s mother. Sitting nearby, a senior party member and activist showed interest in speaking about the current ceasefire in Lyari, while requesting anonymity.

“There are three factors at play here,” he explained. “First, both splinter groups have exhausted their manpower. Their men fight with each other during the day and hide from Rangers at night. It has taken its toll.” Also, he went on, for the past one month, activists and PPP members from the area have been trying to mediate between the groups as it was evident that both would eventually agree. But on March 11, Fateh Zikri, brother of gang leader Ghaffar Zikri — now a close aide of Baba Ladla — was killed in a Rangers encounter, followed by an armed attack reportedly by Zikri’s men inside a market named Jhatpat near Chakiwara. The next day, paramilitary forces killed another 10 of Ladla’s closest aides, including his brother-in-law Asif Niyazi, in an encounter.

“The groups knew they have to reach a truce but neither of them wanted to back off first,” the PPP worker said. “And the PPP’s top cadre was apathetic as ever. That’s when Uzair and Ladla agreed upon Ayaz Latif Palijo’s name.”

Though it has elicited curiosity from all quarters, Palijo’s liaison with the PAC started during their joint participation in the Sindh Mohabbat Rally against the division of the province in May 2012. The rally came under fire near the old city area, Paan Mandi, killing 11 and injuring more than 35. In a press conference later, Palijo did not mince his words whilst lashing out at those he thought were responsible for the attack — a step that brought him even closer to the PAC as both followed the same ideology and shared an enemy.

Palijo says his mother is Baloch and he has been politically active in Lyari since the MRD days back in the 1980s. “Both Uzair and Ladla’s groups came to meet me in Hyderabad, after I spoke to them separately through Viber,” he said. “I categorically told them that they’ll have to respect the conditions of the ceasefire. One is to let the ongoing and unbiased Rangers’ operation in Lyari to continue. Further, no blood money will be accepted by men who have killed people in the area. They’ll have to face court cases against them. And residents must be allowed to come back to their homes.”

Nevertheless, people are reluctant to come back, said the activist. One of the families that returned a few days after the ceasefire found the door and windows of their home missing along with jewellery, furniture and official documents.

“Think of it as a short break before another fight ensues,” said Memon.