KARACHI, Oct 12: At least seven persons, including a teenage girl, were wounded, five vehicles torched, three ambulances damaged and two fast food outlets came under attack during day-long violence on the day of strike called by the Pak-Afghan Defence Council, to protest against the US bombing of Afghanistan.

Police arrested more than 40 people in different parts of the city during the day. Protesters fought pitched battles with police and other law- enforcement agencies in various parts of the city.

The first major clash between protesters and police and rangers took place near the Nazimabad petrol pump traffic intersection from where a procession of several hundred was passing on its way to Bacha Khan Chowk.

Police said miscreants tried to damage the Nazimabad Chowrangi petrol pump. Police and rangers lobbed teargas shells on the protesters, and later opened fire at them when they were fired at by the protesters.

During the clash the sound of an explosion was heard. However, it could not be confirmed whether it was a hand-grenade or a cracker.

In the clash at this place at least two men suffered bullet injuries. They were rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where they were identified as Abbas, 24, and Badshah, 25.

The second clash occurred when police and rangers confronted protesters who emerged from the localities of Jalalabad and Aurangabad and Nazimabad No 3 on Ibn Sina Road between the petrol pump and SITE.

Since afternoon, the entire Ibn Sina road presented the picture of a battle ground. The road was littered with stones of various sizes and burning tyres, making access to the road impossible.

The SSP Central, Shaukat Husain, who was present on the scene, said: “We will try to arrest the miscreants.”

As the protesters again tried to move towards the Nazimabad petrol pump intersection, police and rangers fired teargas shells and restored to firing in the air to disperse the protesters. Police also chased protesters into the streets.

Four persons were wounded. They were later identified, in Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, as Ghulam Sarwar, 23, Subhan, 25, Swaleh Khan, 12, and Pervez Khan, 26.

The Nazim of Liaquatabad Town, Dr Pervaiz Mahmood, who was present at the Nazimabad petrol pump intersection, told this reporter that the situation was mishandled by law-enforcement agencies which led to violence and clash between the protesters and the law-enforcers.

“In the past much bigger processions had passed through the same area enroute to Bacha Khan Chowk in an orderly manner.”

The Naib Nazim of Liaquatabad Town, Ghayurul Islam, who was also present on the scene, said the localities of Jalalabad and Aurangabad had been so fiercely teargassed that women and children had to come out of houses due to irritation and suffocation caused by teargas.

In the afternoon a rally passing through the area blocked the traffic intersection in Nazimabad No 7 near Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

The protesters also pelted motorcyclists and people riding bicycles with stones, which forced all the private hospitals located on the main road to close their gates.

Later, police enforcement arrived which made the procession to pass through Paposh area enroute to Bacha Khan Chowk.

In the morning a teenage girl was injured in Orangi Town when protesters, forcing shops to shut up, opened fire. Police said a stray bullet hit Rena, 17, who was standing in the street. She was rushed to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre where doctors said she had suffered a bullet wound to the chest.

Three Edhi ambulances were attacked in different parts of the city. Edhi sources said two their of ambulances (EA-1150) and (EA-1118) were damaged by a mob in Agra Taj Colony. Their drivers, Abdul Samad and Ghulam Yahya, were injured. The third ambulance (EA-5001) was attacked At Bacha Khan Chowk, where it had gone to pick up a patient. The driver was also injured in the attack.

Earlier, two fast food outlets, of KFC, in SITE and North Nazimabad were ransacked. The KFC outlet in SITE was completely ransacked in another attack in the afternoon.

Youths burnt tyres at numerous places in the city, including Liaquatabad and Nazimabad flyover.

In the morning anti-US protesters, mostly comprising youths, attacked the Lyari Town office in Chakiwara and torched two cars and three motorcycles.

According to witnesses, a mob entered the Town office at 10:15am and ransacked it. They tried to pull out the car of the Nazim outside the building to set it on fire. But since it was locked, the car was only partially damaged.

The mob also set two cars and three motorcycles on fire in front of the Town office on main Chakiwara Road. One of the cars belonged to the Town Municipal Officer.

A Town official told Dawn that protesters ransacked many sections of the building and damaged window-panes and furniture. He said due to the strike most of the employees could not attend office.

A heavy contingent of police and rangers arrived, and they dispersed the mob. Residents said a police picket was hardly a short distance away from the Town office.

In the morning youths put up barricades on main roads linking the Town with SITE area. They also lit bonfires.

Incidents of tyre-burning and stoning of vehicles occurred in Chakiwara, Asht Chowk, Bakra Piri, Miran Naka, Mirza Adam Khan Road, Masan Road, Shah Bhittai Road and Lea Market.

After Friday prayers, groups of youngsters marched through the main roads of the locality and shouted anti-US and anti-Pakistan government slogans demanding an immediate halt to the bombing of Afghanistan. In the evening an Edhi ambulance was also torched in Agra Taj Colony.

A complete strike was observed in Lyari.

Incidents of firing were also reported from districts Central and West till late in the night.