KARACHI, Police on Monday asked the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) to discontinue its practice of giving permissions for holding parties on premises in the area, Dawn has learnt.

The request was made against the backdrop of the killing of six people in an armed clash that broke out during a dance party in a DHA bungalow early on Sunday morning.

The police made the request in a letter written to the DHA seeking an end to the practice of giving permissions for holding private parties and ‘Sheesha Corners’, which often become a scene of law and order breakdown.

Sources said that the organisers of the party had obtained permission from DHA for organising the party, but the permission was only meant for a private party.

But the party had been organised on a commercial basis since there was a paid entry to the bungalow.

The premises had been a spot for such parties in the past, the police added.

An official of the law-enforcement agency said that holding of such dance parties was not new in the area and incidents of gatecrash were also not rare.

However, such a large number of casualties at a single party had set alarm bells ringing.

Explaining his view on the issue, Clifton SP Tariq Dharejo said that police were not informed about such parties and when a law and order situation developed, police were blamed for their absence.

The police in the past had made requests to the DHA to discontinue the practice of giving such permissions, the SP added.

The issue had been taken up by the DIG (south) during a recent meeting chaired by the Corps Commander, the SP pointed out.