It was a usual day for me. In the morning rushing to office in Saddar. On return a walk from Mereweather Tower to my home in Lyari. It was this part of my journey to home that hammered me out of my world within and exposed to the violence vibrating around.
As I turned my right from Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai Hall at Musa Lane and entered in an alley near Pathan Masjid. Gunfire disturbed the normal hustle bustle of the area. People in my front turned around and started running towards my direction. A teenage boy yelled two women accompanied with him, lazy in their steps, to run away to the safety. Some gun toting young men had opened fire. I had also galloped with my full strength in reverse to step out of the scene.
But, i was running towards another front as some young men retorting fire to the rival gunmen. Definitely it was a shootout between two gangs of armed men involved in street battle. It was a scene like trapped between the devil and deep sea. Oh no!!! But don’t be concerned for my well being. As it was a street scene. And it was Lyari. Though shutters of some shops along the street went down. But the situation was not hopeless as a milk shop and other neighborhood shops were still open and curious people watching the live shooting scene. I and an old man also trapped in the situation immediately snatched in the milk shop by a worker of the shop. Offering us refuge from the dangerous situation. Curious onlookers from their safe havens in shops were watching the violent drama on the street punctuated with heavy gunfire.
The refugees in the milk shop were alarmed when a gunman advanced and reached near the shop and continued fire with a gun in raised hands. However, a man in the shop consoled us that he will not fire at the shop.
The shootout was continued for almost 10 minutes with tiny intervals of silence. But it was surprize that the ever present law enforcement agencies in the sensitive Lyari area didn’t intervene to nab the men engaged in the fight with sophisticated guns.
After minutes, the frontline move from the place of our refuge and the shopkeeper graciously asked us to leave their business place to let them do their work.
I was advised not to go from a shortcut path where the battle was still raging. So, taking a long path reached home safely.
