On the eve of Independence Day, celebratory aerial firing in Karachi resulted in at least 95 injuries and one fatality, a medical official said on Wednesday. Despite previous prohibitions, incidents of aerial firing on holidays like New Year’s Eve and Independence Day are commonplace and frequently result in scores of injuries.
Dr. Summaiya Syed, a police physician, stated in a statement that three main hospitals in Karachi received reports of 95 cases of aerial firing. Nineteen cases were recorded at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), consisting of thirty-three men and six women. The youngest was only five years old, and the eldest was seventy-four.
34 injured people, ages six to 65, were admitted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. There were 25 men and 9 women among them. 22 injuries, including 17 males and 5 women, were reported to the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto (SMBB) Trauma Center. The youngest was six years old, and the eldest was fifty-five.
Dr. Syed informed Dawn.com that one of the injured patients receiving care at the SMBB Trauma Center had a “serious” condition. In addition, she verified that a youngster had passed away, citing an arrest made by authorities of a suspect in that instance. A list of the injured, together with their ages and the location of the incident, was released earlier by the information office of the Chhipa rescue service.
“People injured due to aerial firing in various parts of Karachi on Independence Day are being transported via Chhipa ambulances to the Civil (SMBB Trauma Centre), Jinnah (JPMC), and Abbasi Shaheed hospitals,” the statement stated. At least 18 juveniles and 12 women were among those hurt as a result of aerial firing, according to the list, which listed 75 persons as injured. They comprised an eighty-two-year-old mother, two four-year-olds, and a three-year-old.
Korangi, Landhi, Lyari, Nazimabad, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Liaquatabad, Sohrab Goth, and Golimar were among the locations where the incidents occurred.
19 people are detained throughout the city.
14 individuals were detained by police in Karachi’s Central District, while Korangi District police apprehended five men for the aerial firing events. All cases involved the purported recovery of weapons. A total of 14 individuals have been brought into custody inside the boundaries of several police stations, and cases have been filed against them, according to a statement released by Zeeshan Shafique, the senior superintendent of police for the Central District.
According to a police statement, a youngster died as a result of an unintentional gunshot, and the Shahrah-i-Noor Jahan police detained a suspect. It further stated that a first information report (FIR) had been filed and that the suspect had been found in possession of a licensed firearm. One suspect in the aerial firing was detained by the police stations in Khawaja, Ajmer Nagri, New Karachi, Sir Syed, Supermarket, Hyderi Market, Paposhnagar, Joharabad, and Gulbahar. The majority of the weapons seized from these individuals were licensed.
According to Shafique’s testimony, Nazimabad police detained two suspects and three by Sharifabad police. Five males were reportedly detained by the Korangi District police for their alleged involvement in aerial shooting. According to the police statement, the arrests took place at Zaman Town, Landhi, Saudabad, and several other locations in Korangi. It stated that cases had been filed against the suspects and that firearms had been found on them.
