Islamabad - Police in Pakistan's commercial hub of Karachi
braced Thursday for possible widespread unrest after overnight riots
triggered by frequent power cuts.
'We are pursing a strategy of restraint with a psychological
approach to defuse tension among people irritated by power breakdowns
in this hot and humid weather,' senior police officer Tahir Naveed
said.
Mobs in the port city of more than 15 million people ransacked a
Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise Wednesday night and made abortive
attempts to force their way into a couple of banks.
The demonstrators also pelted vehicles with stones and damaged
public property, prompting law enforcement personnel to use tear gas
to disperse the angry crowds.
The protesters also blocked roads by burning tyres and littering
them with heavy stones, leading to traffic snarls that took several
hours to clear.
'Our focus is to negotiate with the agitators by asking them about
their grievances and checking the causes with the electricity
suppliers,' Naveed said, adding that police feared some people might
be exploiting the situation and instigating violence in a bid to gain
political mileage by criticizing the government and local authorities.
Pakistan, which is in the grip of a severe heat wave with
temperatures as high as 52 degrees, is confronting a power crisis as
demand for electricity far outstrips the supply.
Opposition political parties also lashed out at the government of
President Pervez Musharraf for not investing in power-generation
projects amid a much trumpeted increase in Pakistan's financial
reserves.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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