KARACHI: Two labourers were killed and a policeman was wounded on Saturday in day-long violence at Super Highway and nearby Sabzi Mandi before the city authorities came in with a heavy hand and suspended four police officials and ordered reopening of the road.

Two officials of Rangers also sustained injuries during the violence and gunfight between police and vendors protesting against 'high-handedness of the police'. The protestors forced a 15-hour suspension of vehicular traffic at Super Highway and attacked official vehicles and ambulances and pelted vehicles with stones, damaging 12, said a volunteer of ambulance service.

The City Nazim Naimatullah Khan has ordered judicial inquiry of the incident. He also ordered suspension of two DSPs, one SHO and a section officer of Gulzar-e-Hijri and traffic police. The Nazim called a high-level meeting after his visit to Gulzar-e-Hijri police station. The DG Rangers, home secretary, DIG Karachi Police Range, Naib Nazim, MD KWSB and representatives of fruit and vegetable market associations attended the meeting.

Naimat ordered the KWSB to provide water to the market within 12 hours. He assured the association that legal and departmental action would be taken against police officials and asked the traders not to take the law in their hands.

Violence had erupted on Friday due to alleged police highhandedness and demand for bribes. Two young labourers had sustained bullet wounds after which the mob turned violent and torched four police vehicles and attacked a police kiosk.

During the exchange of fire on Saturday a young labourer, Wilayat Khan, lost his life. He hailed from Bajore Agency and was the only bread earner for his six children and two psychiatric patient brothers, said his close friend.

Witnesses said a policeman of Gulzar-e-Hijri, Khizir Hayat, was seriously wounded and shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

A total of 13 people, including two Rangers' officials, were also wounded during a free-for-all between the labourers, police and Rangers, said officials. The injured included SI Qamar and Hawaladar Qurban Ali while scores of labourers sustained injuries inflicted with iron rods and stones.

"Two of our ambulances (EA-1292) and (EA-1138) were attacked by the enraged mobs when our volunteers went there to pick up the wounded," a volunteer of Edhi Foundation told The News at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

"Khushdil Khan, 26, was killed when he was knocked down by an official vehicle at the scene," another witness said.

Violence had started late Friday night when six cops of Gulzar-e-Hijri demanded bribe from vendors and Afghan children selling drinking water inside the market, which is facing acute water shortage for the last several days. A source in the KWSB said that water connection of the market was disconnected several days earlier.

Police lodged a case against unknown accused for violence. "We have registered a case vide FIR No 403/2001 on the complaint of ASI Mehmood Khan under sections 147/148/149/427/353/341/439/324, but so far we have not arrested anyone," said the Gulzar-e-Hijri police.

The highway, witnesses added, was blocked till Saturday noon as the protesting crowd erected barricades and the law-enforcers fired teargas shells to disperse the enraged mob.

KARACHI: Scores of protestors, pedestrians, motorists and residents were wounded and dozens of demonstrators were arrested at Ancholi after police and Rangers stormed protestors on Saturday.

Protestors gathered at Masjid-o-Imambargah Khair-ul-Amal, Ancholi, where the Jafferiya Alliance (JA) leaders had to offer court arrest in the second round of protest campaign the JA launched on Friday against sectarian killings.

The crowd came out of the mosque and proceeded towards Shahrah-e-Pakistan where police and Rangers tried to stop it. This lead to scuffles between protestors and law-enforcers, who resorted to teargas shelling. Getting enraged the crowed attacked the law-enforcers and in turn they shelled heavily.

"Following the court arrest of five JA leaders from Bu Turab Imambargah in Azizabad, five more leaders - Maulana Shabeeh-ul-Raza, Maulana Jaffer Raza, Shahid Zaiadi and Alamdaar Haider - were about to offer court arrest, when police stormed the procession," Allama Hasan Zafar Naqvi informed, adding: "We were heading towards police for court arrests but they started teargas shelling for no reason."

Scores of people wounded due to shelling, included area Nazim Hasan Raza Pervez and two minors Irteza Raza and Areeba, a resident claimed. "People sitting insides their homes also sustained wounds due to intensive shelling," he claimed.

Police started arrests after the shelling and shifted the arrested to police stations. Later the JA leader asked people to come inside the mosque to avoid further arrests. "Now we will complete the second round of court arrests inside the Imambargah," Naqvi said.

"We have arrested only two of those who offered court arrests," said SSP Central Syed Shaukat Ali Shah when contacted. Sources, however, claimed that all the five leaders intending court arrest were later arrested.

"Law-enforcers have cordoned off the entire vicinity and we were confined inside the Imambargah," Naqvi said. "I know that there were some grievances of the community over the killings and we are trying to resolve them but this sort of violent protests will not help," opined city police chief DIG Tariq Jamil adding: "We had offered them to produce their leaders peacefully but they resorted to arson."

The first round of court arrests was also stormed by police and Rangers on Friday and violent protestors had damaged 10 vehicles in Azizabad. Police had arrested 15 demonstrators from there, including the JA chief Allama Abbas Kumaili and four others. Following the arrests, highly charged youths stoned shops and vehicles and it led to baton charge by police.

Police and Rangers cracked down against warring religious groups and arrested several activists of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Muhammad but terrorists were still striking and sectarian killings were still taking places.

KARACHI: The factor of intolerance, sectarian killings, political feuding, and biased behaviour has caused an irreparable loss to the country's reputation in the eyes of the international community and Pakistani society in a way was on its last legs. So, top-most priority on the part of state and the well-balanced and enlightened forces is to take immediate steps to strive for promoting healthy social values and discouraging negative tendencies.

The views were aired at a seminar on "Need of Religious Tolerance in Pakistan" organised by Pakistan Peace Coalition (PPC) in collaboration with Takhleeq Foundation, at the Sidco Centre on Saturday.

Speakers analysed the reasons and consequences of intolerance and also exposed the extremist religious elements working for their vested interests while exploiting the sentiments of masses under the cover of religion.

The speakers, including Ghulam Kibria (who presided over the seminar), Justice (retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid, Dr Mehdi Hassan (from Lahore), Dr Qibla Ayaz (from Peshawar), Maulana Ubaidullah Bhutto and Prof Shaista Zaidi expressed deep concern over the sectarian killings and the ongoing absurd sectarian duels that had created an image that Pakistani citizens were very intolerant and did not accept the feelings and religious thoughts of others.

Pakistan, the speakers said, was the creation of a democratic struggle and Muhammad Ali Jinnah in his speech made out on August 11, 1947, had made it clear that every Pakistan citizen would be free to uphold his or her religious thoughts and views. He had fought for the cause of Muslims but had not visualised the country as a theocratic state and that was why, he and his associates had never mentioned making Pakistan an Islamic state.

Mehdi Hasan contended that Allama Mashriqi, the leader of Khaksar Tehreek, Maulana Abul A'ala, the leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, the leaders of Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind and Majlis-e-Ehrar-e-Hind, were among those who had exercised their democratic right in opposing the then Muslim League leadership on the grounds that they had some other resolution to address the problems being faced by Muslims. In such a condition, Mehdi said, those who portrayed an ideological concept behind the creation of Pakistan were not justified.

The speakers emphasised it was time to persuade rulers and people to adopt a secular approach in dealing with different sects and beliefs of groups and people. The secular approach, they said, must be distinguished from atheism as it (secularism) accepted everyone's beliefs and showed forbearance and rejected discrimination on the basis of beliefs and also believed in freedom of thoughts.

The speakers grieved over the overall approach of the political leadership of the political parties of the country observing they never acted like true leaders and representatives of masses as they failed to demonstrate a political will discouraging 'sectarianism and fundamentalism' and 'discrimination' against the groups and citizens of Pakistan.

The politicians always hesitated to discourage the extremist elements and presented a plan of action against discrimination on the basis of beliefs and religions. The speakers said the media did not play their due role in promoting moderate values and discourage extremist elements. The media, the speakers suggested, must highlight the genuine social and economic problems of the downtrodden people and working class.

WASHINGTON: India and Pakistan continued to upgrade their ballistic missiles, enabling them to deliver nuclear weapons at greater distances, CIA Director George Tenet told US Congress on Friday.

The report says that with the Chinese assistance, Pakistan is moving toward serial production of solid-propellant SRBMs, such as Shaheen-I and Haider-I. Pakistan test-flew Shaheen-I in 1999 and plans to test-fly Haider-I in 2001. However, the report observes that successful development of the two-stage Shaheen-II MRBM will require continued Chinese assistance or assistance from other potential sources.

In an unclassified version of a report on deadly weapons mandated by law, Tenet said Russia and some Western European nations helped India; China aided Pakistan. The CIA director for the first time officially stated that Chinese entities, still unnamed, provided Pakistan with missile-related technical assistance in the second half of last year. These charges were first published by The Washington Times through leaks from the agency.

It further says that Pakistan continued to acquire nuclear-related and dual-use equipment and materials from various sources - principally in Western Europe. The semi-annual report covers the period from July to December of 2000 and reveals new details of several developing nations' programs to develop weapons of mass destruction.

Release of the report comes a week after the Bush administration slapped economic sanctions on China and Pakistan. Pakistan and China have denied about the technology transfer. According to the CIA, Islamabad has a well-developed nuclear weapons program, as evidenced by its first nuclear weapons tests in late May 1998. Acquisition of nuclear-related goods from foreign sources will remain important if Pakistan chooses to develop more advanced nuclear weapons. The report says Pakistan continues to rely on China and France for its ACW requirements and negotiated to purchase an additional 40 F-7 fighters from China. About India, the report says it continues its nuclear weapons development program, for which its underground nuclear tests in May 1998 were a significant milestone. "The acquisition of foreign equipment will benefit New Delhi in its efforts to develop and produce more sophisticated nuclear weapons. During this reporting period, India continued to obtain foreign assistance for its civilian nuclear power program, primarily from Russia, says the report.

The CIA believes India continues to rely on foreign assistance for key missile technologies, where it still lacks engineering or production expertise. Entities in Russia and Western Europe remained the primary conduits of missile-related and dual-use technology transfers during the latter half of 2000.

It points out that India continues an across-the-board modernization of its armed forces through ACW acquisitions, mostly from Russia, although many of its key programs have been plagued by delays.

During the reporting period, New Delhi concluded a $3 billion contract with Russia to produce under license 140 Su-30 multirole fighters and continued negotiations with Moscow for 310 T-90S main battle tanks, A-50 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWACS) aircraft, Tu-22M Backfire maritime strike bombers, and an aircraft carrier. India also continues to explore options for leasing or purchasing several AWACS systems from other entities. India also signed a contract with France for 10 additional Mirage 2000H multirole fighters and is considering offers for jet trainer aircraft from France and the United Kingdom. In addition to helping India with the development of its indigenous nuclear-powered submarine, Russia is negotiating with India the possible lease of a Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine, says the report.

Tenet further alleged that China supplied missile technology and related goods to Pakistan, Iran, North Korea and Libya. The CIA report to Congress also identified Russia and North Korea as major exporters of nuclear, chemical and biological weapon-related equipment and missile systems to the so-called 'rogue states' and unstable regions of the world.