Karachi: Over 160 people have been arrested in Pakistan’s Sindh province where clashes have erupted between Sindhis and Pakhtuns after the killing of a Sindhi man at a hotel in Hyderabad.
The protests, which began on Wednesday night, were sparked by a video on social media where a man identified as Bilal Kaka, 35, was first beaten and then killed by a Pashtun hotel owner in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
The dispute started over the payment of food bills. According to the media reports, Kaka and four of his friends threatened hotel owner, Shah Sarwar Pathan, after which the situation got out of hand.
The killing of Kaka has triggered ethnic tensions between Sindhis and Pashtuns in some main cities of southern Sindh province with mobs blocking the Super Highway in Karachi for the third consecutive day and indulging in violence.
Angry Pushtun mobs clashed with the police near Sohrab Goth at the start of the Super Highway on Friday while also setting a car on fire and resorting to firing.
Soon after the incident, there were reports of mobs attacking Pashtun-run hotels in Hyderabad, Larkana, Jamshoro and some other cities of the province, with three injured reported in firing incidents.
Videos circulating on social media showed a group of men asking Pushtun hotel owners to close their shops and leave Sindh.
Pashtuns have been running tea shops and restaurants in Karachi and other parts of Sindh for years now.
In an apparent backlash, hundreds of Pushtun community members who reside in big numbers at Sohrab Goth and adjoining areas including Asif Square in Karachi have been protesting and blocking the highway since Wednesday night.
DSP Sohrab Goth, Sohail Faiz, said they had so far arrested at least 165 people some of them red handed with weapons.
There have been clashes between mobs and the police but the situation is being kept under control so that traffic is not disrupted from Karachi to Hyderabad or onwards, he said.
Senior Pushtun politician Afarasiab Khattak and rights activist Nida Kirmani have called on the Sindh government to stop the violence and protect the lives and properties of Pushtuns in the province.
Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) chairman Sanan Qureshi has condemned the murder of Kaka and appealed to Sindhis to maintain peace.
Addressing a press conference at Larkana Press Club on Wednesday, he said a murderer was a murderer and condemned the reaction to Kaka’s killing.
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