As the Karachi police have failed to control firing during wedding celebrations, there seems to be no stop to the killings of people due to celebratory gunfire.
The latest incident occurred on 26-January-2025 afternoon within the limits of the Sacchal police station where a young girl was killed after being hit by a stray bullet that had been fired in the air during a wedding ceremony.
The wedding celebration was taking place at a house near Abul Hassan Ispahani Road in the neighbourhood of the victim. Twelve-year-old Azela, daughter of Sabz Ali, was standing in the balcony of her flat when she was hit by a bullet and injured.
She soon succumbed to her injuries. Following her death, police arrested two suspects, Jan Zada, son of Hashim Ali, and Jamal Shah, son of Sarwar, who were involved in the firing and seized weapons from them. However, another suspect, Ayub, managed to flee and efforts are underway to arrest him.
According to police, the victim lived on the fourth floor of an apartment building in the area, and was struck by a bullet while standing in her apartment’s gallery when the wedding procession arrived and began firing in the air.
The child’s body was taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
The girl has become the third victim of celebratory gunfire in Karachi in recent days. Just a few days ago, two children were killed, and one person injured in a similar incident of celebratory firing during a wedding in the Christian Colony area of Surjani Town. The incident occurred on Friday. Initially, a child identified as six-year-old Banjo, son of Eric, was killed as a result of the firing and two others — six-year-old Alan, son of Shehzad, and 30-year-old Robin, son of Babar — were injured. However, Alan succumbed to injuries during treatment at a hospital on Saturday.
According to Surjani Town SHO Inspector Ghulam Hussain Pirzada, the initial investigations indicated that individuals accompanying a wedding procession were engaged in celebratory gunfire, during which an accidental discharge occurred, leading to the tragedy.
Reports indicate that celebratory firing is a common occurrence during weddings across the city, with police typically taking no action against those involved, opting instead to settle matters unofficially.
Published in News Daily on 27-January-2025.