At least five people were killed and seven injured on Friday in Kotla Jam in an exchange of fire between members of two banned organisations.
The injured were taken to district headquarters hospital, where two of them were later reported to be in critical condition.
Cases have been registered against unidentified people in Saddar police station and Darya Khan police station.
Police said members of a banned militant outfit had gathered in the Panj Graeen area to protest against the police for failing to arrest the killers of one of their activists two days ago.
They said as the rally entered the Darya Khan area, some unidentified men, said to be members of a rival group, opened fire at them. The protesters shot back.
One of the protesters died on the spot. Eleven others, from both sides, were injured. They were taken to a DHQ hospital, where four of them died in a few hours. Two of the injured were said to be in critical condition.
Four of the deceased were identified as Ali Raza, Imran Shirazi, Khan Muhammad and Ghulam Mustafa. The injured include Mohib Hussain, Faiz Hussain, Kazim Hussain, Safdar Shah, Kazim Raza and Fayyaz Haider, and an unidentified person.
Meanwhile, activists of the two groups staged protest demonstrations in the area, setting tyres on fire and resorting to shooting in the air.
District Police Officer Mumtaz Hussain Zahid summoned Rangers to take control of the situation. The protesters dispersed a few hours later.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24th, 2013.