KARACHI: At least one man was killed and several injured in Pakistan’s biggest city Karachi Tuesday when a riot broke out in protest at the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl.
Crowds took to the streets after the body of the victim was discovered late Monday, blocking the main road in the western suburb of Orangi Town in western Karachi where they hurled stones at riot police.
“One man has died because of a gunshot,” said Aamir Farooqi, the police chief in the district. “We are investigating whose bullet caused that death.”
A second police official confirmed the figure.
Relatives of the girl and hundreds of residents were angry over what they say has been police laxity in the case. A medical report said the child had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
As the demonstration boiled over, police fired in the air over the crowd and attacked demonstrators with batons.
Two protesters suffering from gunshot wounds were brought to nearby Abbasi Shaheed hospital, where one died later.
Another senior police officer said 10 to 15 police officials were injured during the violence.
The rioting comes months after six-year-old Zainab Fatima Ameen was raped and killed in eastern Pakistan’s city of Kasur, sparking nationwide outrage and soul-searching over how the country fails to protect its most vulnerable.
In February a Pakistani court handed down four death sentences on the man charged with the killing.
Rape and murder sparks riot in Pakistan’s Karachi
Rape and murder sparks riot in Pakistan’s Karachi
- At least one man was killed and several injured when a riot broke out in protest at the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl
- “We are investigating whose bullet caused that death,” says Aamir Farooqi, the police chief in the district
Sweden seizes false-flagged ship with suspected stolen Ukrainian grain
- The Russian embassy in Stockholm said it had been informed by the Swedish coast guard that 10 of the crew were Russian citizens
STOCKHOLM: Police in Sweden have seized a false-flagged cargo ship off its southern coast believed to belong to Russia’s shadow fleet and suspected of transporting stolen Ukrainian grain, authorities said Saturday.
The 96-meter (315-foot) Caffa left Casablanca in Morocco on February 24 and was headed for Saint Petersburg, Russia when armed Swedish police boarded it on Friday off the southern town of Trelleborg.
“The vessel is on the Ukraine sanctions list. Information indicates that it has essentially been used to transport grain that is stolen, as we understand it, from Ukraine,” the coast guard’s acting head of operations, Daniel Stenling, told a press conference.
“We have been able to establish that the vessel is sailing under a false flag. She is registered in Guinea, but that registration is in fact false,” he added.
“A majority” of the 11 crew members were Russian, Stenling said.
The Russian embassy in Stockholm said it had been informed by the Swedish coast guard that 10 of the crew were Russian citizens.
“The Russian embassy in Sweden is in contact with the competent Swedish authorities and is ready, if necessary, to provide consular assistance to the Russian nationals among the crew,” it wrote on Telegram.
One crew member was under investigation for violation of the maritime code on seaworthiness and on ship safety, Stenling said, refusing to disclose the suspect’s identity or crew role.
“The investigative measures we have taken so far reinforce our suspicions and our view that there are extensive maritime safety deficiencies on this vessel,” he said.
The Swedish Transport Agency was to inspect the ship and determine whether it was seaworthy and authorized to continue its journey.
- ‘Risk of accidents’ -
Moscow’s “shadow fleet” consists of vessels with opaque ownership used to skirt Western sanctions.
“It’s a problem for us that we are seeing more ships that don’t respect the law of the sea,” Stenling said, noting that “the risk of accidents increases when ships are not certified.”
“We might not even know what kind of crew is on board, what kind of skills they have, what certifications they hold, and they often lack insurance if something were to happen,” he added.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga on Saturday thanked Sweden.
“Collective action against such vessels is gaining momentum. This is a welcome development,” he wrote on X.
“Sanctions work when they are strictly enforced. Together, we must stop the activities of Russia’s shadow fleet to protect Europe’s security and environment.”
