In a fresh spate of violence in Karachi, 33 people have lost their lives since Wednesday, including a former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MNA Waja Karimdad, who was shot dead by armed men on motorcycles outside a local restaurant. Violence erupted in the metropolis when five residents of Lyari were found shot dead on Wednesday morning. Police has termed it a gang war between rival groups in Lyari. However, it admitted that a few of the killings had resulted out of political and ethnic biases. Whether these widespread killings can be attributed to a bout of war between criminal gangs or not, the murder of Karimdad is a very serious matter and it cannot be dismissed as merely criminal or accidental. Karimdad was founder of the PPP in Lyari, the stronghold of the ruling party and he had been elected twice as MNA from the district. The murder of a senior politician cannot be condemned enough. Life has increasingly been becoming precarious in Karachi. Previously, it was believed that the MQM and the ANP were major players in the violence but the events that have transpired recently suggest that the problem in Karachi has many aspects. There are a number of heavily armed criminal gangs in different areas of Karachi. And the tension in Lyari reflects that a political turf war has started even in the PPP’s stronghold. Some observers see the latest unrest in Lyari and its neighbourhood as a result of a tussle between the PPP and the criminal gangs.
Protestors led by the leader of the defunct People’s Aman Committee (PAC) gathered outside the chief minister’s house after the funeral of the five slain Lyari residents and despite assurances given by the authorities, Lyari and its suburbs remained in the grip of unrest. Miscreants attacked many localities with hand grenades and even fired rockets at buildings. Police and other law enforcement agencies remained helpless throughout. And the citizens of the metropolis kept waiting for Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s stern action against the saboteurs as he had promised in the first week of this month. He had also ordered deployment of additional police and paramilitary troops in Karachi to control the unrest. But unfortunately the writ of the state could not be seen anywhere in the city. Market associations have given a strike call protesting against the killing of two traders in a hand grenade attack as they had refused to pay bhatta to the criminal gangs. In Karachi, the money extortion mafia is working along with land and drug mafias. It is also believed that the main political parties, the PPP, MQM and ANP, use street goons and other criminal gangs for throwing their weight around. The latest patch up of the PPP and the MQM had once again raised hope that it would reduce the violence in the city of up to 18 million people. But there is not letup so far.
Karachi has been a victim of unrest since the last two decades. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, almost 800 people have been killed in Karachi in ethnically and politically motivated violence since the beginning of the year. More than 300 people were killed in the last month alone. We have been repeating in this space that restoring peace in Karachi is imperative for Pakistan’s economic growth. The law and order situation in Karachi seems completely out of control. The government had better wake up and take serious steps to overcome the chaos. All parties should be invited to sit together and brainstorm over the issue. Police should be empowered and supported to launch operations without discrimination and nab the culprits regardless of their political or ethnic affiliations.*