Verdict pending in Karachi unrest hearing

Islamabad: A special bench of Pakistan's Supreme Court yesterday wrapped up a three-week hearing in the Karachi unrest case, but reserved its verdict.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, started proceedings in Islamabad last month and then moved to Karachi where it has been holding a daily hearing.

The chief justice on Wednesday expressed the hope that the verdict, which is likely to be announced in the coming days, will be helpful toward restoring peace and order to the biggest Pakistani city, which has seen about 1,400 killings this year in recurring waves of violence.

The bloodshed has been blamed on ethnic and criminal gangs including mafias involved in grabbing land, pushing drugs and extorting money from trade and business through threats.

After the Supreme Court took notice of the violence that claimed scores of lives in the months of July and August alone and initiated a case on its own.

Crackdown

A new government crackdown by paramilitary Rangers and police, resulting in visible improvement in the situation.

The Rangers were given police powers for search and arrest of suspects, but the government rejected demands for calling in the army to control the unrest in Karachi.

According to Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malek, who had been overseeing the operations by law enforcement personnel in the port city, about 653 suspected criminals and 49 target killers have been apprehended so far during the ongoing crackdown.