KARACHI, Dec 28: More than half a dozen workers of an Italian garments company died when its factory was torched by a group of rioters in the Ibrahim Hyderi area as violence and fear gripped the city for the second consecutive day on Friday.

Seven workers met their deaths out of more than 400 at Masco Exports, situated on the outskirts of the city in the limits of Ibrahim Hyderi police station and near the Korangi Industrial Area, who were inside the factory at the time of the tragic incident early on Friday, when an armed mob stormed the facility and damaged its furniture and fixtures.

Police said the rioters’ action sparked panic among the workers, which included more than 150 women. Though the majority of the workers managed to escape from the factory, their seven colleagues were trapped inside when the production unit was set on fire.

“There is no immediate report about how the incident occurred, but we believe the workers that died in the event had tried to hide inside the factory ignorant of the fact that it was being burnt,” said Inspector Sarwar Hussain, SHO of the Ibrahim Hyderi police station.

“We retrieved seven bodies, including that of a woman, in the evening today (Friday) from inside the factory who are completely burnt and beyond identification. The police have been trying to contact the factory management,” he added.

With production facilities in every country of the region, Masco Exports manages more than $40 million in exports every year from Pakistan. The company, which employees some 3,500 people locally, set up the factory some 10 years ago in the area.Bilal Mullah, President of the Pakistan Ready-made Garments Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association, termed the incident a setback to the overall investment environment, which could lead to foreign capital flight from the country.

Apart from this tragic incident, the city remained in the grip of immense fear while an atmosphere of mourning prevailed on Friday, as more than a dozen people, including policemen, lost their lives in incidents of firing in different areas while more than 400 vehicles were torched in 30 hours of non-stop violence.

The Edhi Foundation, the country’s largest charity, could not escape the terror, as 16 ambulances of the service were damaged or torched in the city. The foundation spokesman said more than 15 armed persons entered the Edhi Village, a shelter for some 1,600 mentally retarded and homeless children on the Super Highway, and ransacked its offices before beating the staff and disabled children.

“While returning from the village after the raid, they set 16 parked ambulances and the administration office on fire,” he added.

Between violence and fear, vandalism prevailed in the city, as armed gangsters kept robbing people on the roads at gunpoint and broke into closed shops, petrol pumps and even some houses.

Authorities confirmed the burning of some 425 vehicles and firing in different areas, as tension prevailed across the city. Karachiites preferred to stay at home to mourn the tragic death of the former prime minister under fear and a poor law and order situation. The officials confirmed that close to 18 branches of different local and foreign banks were set on fire in the prolonged violence while a telephone exchange, a post office and three police stations were attacked by groups of armed youths.

“We have reports of more than 400 vehicles which have been burnt since Thursday evening,” said Azhar Ali Farooqi, Capital City Police Officer. “Similarly, some 18 branches of different banks have been also damaged since Thursday evening. But the intensity of violence is not as severe today (Friday) as it was yesterday,” he said.

‘Shoot on sight’

As the police force largely failed to protect citizens and public and private property, the Pakistan Rangers were authorized to shoot on sight as a ‘last resort’ to avoid violence and damage to property.

“We have more than 10,000 soldiers deployed only in Karachi,” said a spokesman for the Rangers. “We have obviously increased the mobility mainly in the downtown areas and the situation is turning better gradually,” he added.

The day started when hundreds of youths, with the majority of them carrying weapons, attacked the Mauripur police station, which triggered firing between the police and the charged group. The incident caused injuries to some dozen people, who were shifted to hospitals for treatment.

Violence also erupted in areas of Lyari where a telephone exchange and a post office were set on fire by protesters, as were banks on Nishtar Road, Lea Market, Korangi and Jamshed Quarters.

In Lea Market, a three-storey building that housed a restaurant and other commercial facilities was nearly gutted. The same area also witnessed the burning of a police kiosk while two other posts of the law-enforces met the same fate. A water tanker believed to be of the Pakistan Navy was also seen burning on main Mauripur Road.

The city’s major health facilities reported receiving eight dead bodies from different areas with gunshots while a Sindh Police spokesman confirmed the deaths of two policemen each in Kalri and Liaquatabad.

Independent and hospital sources confirmed that Abbasi Shaheed Hospital received five dead bodies from different areas followed by the Civil Hospital, which received two men with bullet wounds. A body of a young man was also received by the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

However, police authorities and the Sindh health department both avoided commenting saying they could not confirm the figures under the circumstances.

In Quaidabad, industrial workers of the Korangi and Landhi industrial areas, who were returning home after spending the night at their workplaces, were deprived of cash, mobile phones and valuables at gunpoint by armed youths. The episodes continued for more than six hours with no sign of the police or Rangers.

Similarly, in Gulshan-i-Iqbal cars parked outside homes and inside a few apartment complexes were damaged by vandals to get access to their accessories. The CNG kits, recording systems and other fixtures were found missing from the vehicles, which were damaged badly.

On main Sohrab Goth, charged youths armed with weapons and sticks kept robbing passers-by. In Gulshan-i-Maymar, incidents of daylight robberies in houses were also reported whereas the same cases were also witnessed in Gulshan-i-Hadeed. In Lyari, a market comprising some over 15 shops on Shah Bhittai Road was badly damaged after a group stormed into its premises.

Army called

The Pakistan Army moved in late Friday after the Sindh government made a formal request to the defence authorities for assistance to join the police and Pakistan Rangers to control the fast deteriorating law and order situation.

A senior official said army troops started taking positions in 15 districts of Sindh, including Karachi, and would be deployed almost everywhere in the province by the day’s end.

“No curfew is going to be imposed,” Brig (retd) Ghulam Mohtaram, Sindh Home Secretary, told Dawn. “They (Pakistan Army) have been called only for the protection of lives and public and private property with the required authority.”

He said the provincial government made a formal requisition to the higher authorities for the army’s support in the wake of the deteriorating law and order situation, which, he said, had started to normalise.

“We don’t have an assessment of the losses of life as well as property, but there was the need for such a measure, which has been taken in the best interest of the security and people of the province,” he added.