Pakistan: Bloody 2012: Six lives snuffed out daily in Karachi

The Express Tribune

The year 2012 was no different for the residents of Karachi. The city’s scariest specter – target killing – haunted it all year round, while many lives were also lost to multiple terrorist attacks.

Below are few facts gathered from police data about the killings in the city. • At least six people were killed each day. • Over 3,000 people were injured in firing incidents. • Around 70 of the said injured are handicapped for life. • Around 61 of the dead belonged to Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), 18 to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), 19 to Awami National Party (ANP), 13 to Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H) and eight to Sunni Tehreek (ST). • Sectarian violence claimed 45 lives in 2012 including five lawyers and two doctors. • Nearly 28,104 targeted operations were carried and 92 criminals killed.

According to the Sindh Police, not all murders were target killings. A police representative said target killings have only claimed 438 lives, while the rest were victims of personal fights and enmities. Today’s toll At least eight people were killed in Karachi, while one police officer sustained injuries on Monday in different firing incidents across the city. Unidentified armed men gunned down three people in Nazimabad, two in Machar Colony, one in North Karachi, one in Sohrab Goth and another in Ayub Goth.