On the first anniversary of the Karachi operation, launched amidst much hope and expectation, the police released a report claiming that target killings in the city had gone down by as much as 59 percent. The timing was unfortunate to say the least, given that Karachi is in the midst of another bout of target killings. Just a couple of days before the report was released, Allama Ali Akbar, the son of the Jafaria Alliance Pakistan chief Allama Abbas Kumaili, was killed. Around the same time, a policeman was shot dead in Kharadar and the son-in-law of the Jaamia Binoria SITE superintendent was also killed. The progress report issued by the police was obviously in the works before this recent wave of violence but its findings are massively undermined by the resurgence in target killings. In a new spell of violence that began around the end of August, some 50 people have already been killed. They add to the 850 or so killed in the city earlier during the year, according to records kept by monitoring bodies. Over 3000 died in terrorist or targeted attacks in Karachi in 2013, making it one of the most deadly cities in the world.
It is obvious the much touted security operation in Karachi has not really worked. It was started with a lot of fanfare but in recent months information about it has dried up. We no longer know how many people are being arrested or if the Rangers are the forefront of the operation. These and many other target killings are at times believed to be the work of a strengthened TTP presence in Karachi. The fact is that extremist groups, as well as criminal political gangs have long made Karachi their base. They could be linked to each other, or perhaps they work as different entities. The violence in Karachi is usually tackled as a law-enforcement problem and while it is true that better police work could reduce the killings the solution has to be political. Everyone from target killers to extortionists can operate at will because they have political patronage and protecting. Tragically, political violence often takes on an ethnic and sectarian dimension because of how support for political parties is distributed in Karachi. Vague attempts at deweaponisation have led nowhere with the problem linked in to political affiliations and to backing by political groups. To combat it, this patronage has to be put an end to and the major sectarian outfits operating in the city demolished. This can happen only as part of a wider drive against militancy, terrorism and violence. The city and its people have suffered too long. They need to be relieved of their pain as rapidly as possible through effective political and security actions.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Pakistan: Blood on the streets
On the first anniversary of the Karachi operation, launched amidst much hope and expectation, the police released a report claiming that target killings in the city had gone down by as much as 59 percent. The timing was unfortunate to say the least, given that Karachi is in the midst of another bout of target killings. Just a couple of days before the report was released, Allama Ali Akbar, the son of the Jafaria Alliance Pakistan chief Allama Abbas Kumaili, was killed. Around the same time, a policeman was shot dead in Kharadar and the son-in-law of the Jaamia Binoria SITE superintendent was also killed. The progress report issued by the police was obviously in the works before this recent wave of violence but its findings are massively undermined by the resurgence in target killings. In a new spell of violence that began around the end of August, some 50 people have already been killed. They add to the 850 or so killed in the city earlier during the year, according to records kept by monitoring bodies. Over 3000 died in terrorist or targeted attacks in Karachi in 2013, making it one of the most deadly cities in the world.
It is obvious the much touted security operation in Karachi has not really worked. It was started with a lot of fanfare but in recent months information about it has dried up. We no longer know how many people are being arrested or if the Rangers are the forefront of the operation. These and many other target killings are at times believed to be the work of a strengthened TTP presence in Karachi. The fact is that extremist groups, as well as criminal political gangs have long made Karachi their base. They could be linked to each other, or perhaps they work as different entities. The violence in Karachi is usually tackled as a law-enforcement problem and while it is true that better police work could reduce the killings the solution has to be political. Everyone from target killers to extortionists can operate at will because they have political patronage and protecting. Tragically, political violence often takes on an ethnic and sectarian dimension because of how support for political parties is distributed in Karachi. Vague attempts at deweaponisation have led nowhere with the problem linked in to political affiliations and to backing by political groups. To combat it, this patronage has to be put an end to and the major sectarian outfits operating in the city demolished. This can happen only as part of a wider drive against militancy, terrorism and violence. The city and its people have suffered too long. They need to be relieved of their pain as rapidly as possible through effective political and security actions.
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