Arsla Jawaid
By Arsla Jawaid
Last Wednesday night, four members of Pakistan’s paramilitary Rangers force were killed when an attacker threw a grenade at their vehicle in Korangi Town, a neighbourhood in the east of Karachi. Despite the government touting its historic democratic victory, concern over escalating violence in Karachi, a sprawling metropolis of 18 million people, continues to grow.
A permeating sense of instability has worsened a deteriorating economic crisis, both of which are reminders of the failure of the government and security apparatus to maintain law and order in a city that promises to spiral out of control. In light of upcoming elections, it seems violence will continue to increase.
According to estimates from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, about 2,285 people were killed in attacks in Karachi in 2012.
By media estimates, targeted killings and deadly bomb blasts cost claimed 500 people in 72 days this year. Victims range from civilians to policemen, Rangers to development workers, journalists to lawyers.
Pakistan has recently witnessed a sharp rise in attacks by Sunni extremists on the minority Shia group, which constitutes about 20 percent of the population. The attacks have been concentrated in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, but Karachi has seen its wave of sectarian killing and ethnic strife.
The city came to a standstill when on March 3, a blast ripped through Abbas Town near a Shia Imambargah, destroying two apartment buildings and leaving 50 people dead, more than 200 injured, and innumerable homeless.
Law enforcement agencies remained absent for up to four hours from an area engulfed by flames after the attack, raising questions about the government’s commitment to protect citizens from attacks, and the functioning of the city’s security apparatus.
The mourning families endured further injustice and humiliation when two men were killed and a dozen injured in armed clashes at the funeral procession a day later.
Authorities continue to arrest suspects, and many believe Sunni extremist groups Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which claimed recent attacks on Hazara Shias in Quetta, Baluchistan, are behind thse incidents.
On March 6, Karachi was abruptly shut down in 22 minutes, during which seven people were killed in separate incidents, and people scurried to get home.
Social media was abuzz with transmitting real-time updates on areas blocked or unsafe to travel. Karachi’s biggest and most influential political party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, called for all businesses and educational institutions to remain closed until the Abbas Town culprits were arrested.
Most people were disgruntled by the ‘indefinite’ strike they feared would damage the economy further.
Businesses and public transportation closed quickly, and hospitals were put on high alert. For a city that is, unfortunately, used to daily violence such as thefts, robberies, and car snatching, Karachi seems to have sunk even further into abyss.
Earlier this month, an attempted kidnapping of a young girl at Karachi’s high-fashion Dolmen Mall raised concerns about the collapse of the security apparatus in the wealthier urban centres.
Social media has also been flooded with rumours about “Black Prado” that preys in the affluent areas of Defence, Clifton and Zamzama. Gangs of men, travelling in Black Prados with tinted windows were said to be kidnapping two young girls every day.
Though no official complaints have been registered, rumours were rife that young girls from elite families were gang-raped, videotaped and blackmailed.
Whether actual or rumour, violent incidents and petty crime have made Karachi’s citizens more cautious about their movements.
Many of those living in affluent areas of the city have resorted to enrolling in self-defence classes, particularly women.
Many citizens feel that with the run-up to election, bomb blasts, targeted killings, kidnappings and petty crime are expected to worsen, making the city more unsafe.
An opinion poll on March 9 by the Express Tribune asked whether citizens considered purchasing a gun. From a sample of 1,078 respondents, 69 percent responded affirmatively.
WP-Bloomberg
By Arsla Jawaid
Last Wednesday night, four members of Pakistan’s paramilitary Rangers force were killed when an attacker threw a grenade at their vehicle in Korangi Town, a neighbourhood in the east of Karachi. Despite the government touting its historic democratic victory, concern over escalating violence in Karachi, a sprawling metropolis of 18 million people, continues to grow.
A permeating sense of instability has worsened a deteriorating economic crisis, both of which are reminders of the failure of the government and security apparatus to maintain law and order in a city that promises to spiral out of control. In light of upcoming elections, it seems violence will continue to increase.
According to estimates from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, about 2,285 people were killed in attacks in Karachi in 2012.
By media estimates, targeted killings and deadly bomb blasts cost claimed 500 people in 72 days this year. Victims range from civilians to policemen, Rangers to development workers, journalists to lawyers.
Pakistan has recently witnessed a sharp rise in attacks by Sunni extremists on the minority Shia group, which constitutes about 20 percent of the population. The attacks have been concentrated in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, but Karachi has seen its wave of sectarian killing and ethnic strife.
The city came to a standstill when on March 3, a blast ripped through Abbas Town near a Shia Imambargah, destroying two apartment buildings and leaving 50 people dead, more than 200 injured, and innumerable homeless.
Law enforcement agencies remained absent for up to four hours from an area engulfed by flames after the attack, raising questions about the government’s commitment to protect citizens from attacks, and the functioning of the city’s security apparatus.
The mourning families endured further injustice and humiliation when two men were killed and a dozen injured in armed clashes at the funeral procession a day later.
Authorities continue to arrest suspects, and many believe Sunni extremist groups Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which claimed recent attacks on Hazara Shias in Quetta, Baluchistan, are behind thse incidents.
On March 6, Karachi was abruptly shut down in 22 minutes, during which seven people were killed in separate incidents, and people scurried to get home.
Social media was abuzz with transmitting real-time updates on areas blocked or unsafe to travel. Karachi’s biggest and most influential political party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, called for all businesses and educational institutions to remain closed until the Abbas Town culprits were arrested.
Most people were disgruntled by the ‘indefinite’ strike they feared would damage the economy further.
Businesses and public transportation closed quickly, and hospitals were put on high alert. For a city that is, unfortunately, used to daily violence such as thefts, robberies, and car snatching, Karachi seems to have sunk even further into abyss.
Earlier this month, an attempted kidnapping of a young girl at Karachi’s high-fashion Dolmen Mall raised concerns about the collapse of the security apparatus in the wealthier urban centres.
Social media has also been flooded with rumours about “Black Prado” that preys in the affluent areas of Defence, Clifton and Zamzama. Gangs of men, travelling in Black Prados with tinted windows were said to be kidnapping two young girls every day.
Though no official complaints have been registered, rumours were rife that young girls from elite families were gang-raped, videotaped and blackmailed.
Whether actual or rumour, violent incidents and petty crime have made Karachi’s citizens more cautious about their movements.
Many of those living in affluent areas of the city have resorted to enrolling in self-defence classes, particularly women.
Many citizens feel that with the run-up to election, bomb blasts, targeted killings, kidnappings and petty crime are expected to worsen, making the city more unsafe.
An opinion poll on March 9 by the Express Tribune asked whether citizens considered purchasing a gun. From a sample of 1,078 respondents, 69 percent responded affirmatively.
WP-Bloomberg
