Karachi, January 25: The riots that followed the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto caused damage worth more than Rs.80 billion to public and private property in her home province of Sind and could result in at least 12,000 workers in this southern port city losing their jobs. These workers were employed in 19 factories that were gutted in the Korangi Industrial Area in Karachi and they are now threatening to come out on the streets in protest.

"Seven thousand people have been fired from Maxco (Italian garment factory) only," Shaikh Fazal Jaleel, chairman of the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry, was quoted as saying by The News Friday.

Among the main targets of the mobs was the Korangi Industrial Area that employs 300,000 people in more than 4,500 factories spread across 8,500 acres. Maxco suffered the most damage. Colgate-Palmolive was also among the many factories that suffered damage along with two flourmills that were burnt along with their grain.

One Korangi industrialist said that this was the first time that industrial units were targeted, adding that the losses would run into billions. According to him, Maxco alone suffered nearly Rs.2 billion damage in the violence. The factory hit the headlines when some of its workers were burnt alive during the riots as they were trapped inside.

"The riots have made industrialists worried about their security. We should have our own security system," the industrialist said.

He said that the only way that the affected workers could be rehabilitated was by being reinstated. "We have talked to the government and it has promised to provide financial support to those units that were not covered by any insurance."

Maxco employed some 2,200 workers who resided in a nearby fishermen's village. Of them, only 10 to 15 women had been reinstated, one worker said.

"Retrenchment has caused unrest, mostly among the locals, who have been the most affected. The police is also now harassing workers who live in the nearby villages. The threat of retrenchment combined with police harassment has made the locals extremely insecure," The News said.