8 killed, 12 injured as Karachi violence continues

[majesticpankaj]

2011 violence kills 90 in Karachi

More than 90 people have lost their lives in Pakistan's financial hub of Karachi since the beginning of the year 2011 as a fresh wave of violence plagues the Asian country.


The nonstop incidents of violence, including separate gun attacks during the last 16 days, have resulted in the 90 casualties, a Press TV correspondent reported late on Monday.

Authorities have failed so far to maintain peace in the Pakistani city despite imposing a curfew in some parts along with the deployment of troops in the region.

Karachi, the economic capital of Pakistan, has remained in the grip of ethnic, political and sectarian violence for a long time now.

Hundreds of innocent people have lost their lives in Pakistan in recent years.

In the first 16 days of January, 90 people, including 18 political activists, one journalist and a policeman became victims of target killings in Karachi.

The last three days have witnessed the worst violence in the city, claiming 37 lives.

Due to the recent wave of target killings in Karachi, Pakistani rangers have been given police powers to conduct search operations, set up check points and detain and investigate suspects in the city.

About 400 suspects were arrested in a search operation in the Faqir Colony area of Orangi Town in Karachi early Tuesday morning.

PressTV - 2011 violence kills 90 in Karachi

---------- Post added at 01:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:28 AM ----------

why there is no mass protest in pakistan against this nonsense violence...?? I think pakistanis members are not interested in answering

 

[pak-marine]

This is an ethnic conflict right ?

its more than that , all ethnicities have lived toghether for decades peacfully , there were few incidences however it was never this harsh and cruel , problem khi facing today is over the years the estabilishment in order to serve their interests have turned the city into a al qaeeda and taliban safe heaven ... many major al qaeeda / taliban figures were caught from the city. The city is fighting against the biggest terrorist in the world , unfortunatly the enemy has penetrated so deep inside us that this cancer cannot be rooted out so easily. However on the other hand city also serves as a revenue engine for the state , al qaeeda/ taliban as well as the militarys.

 

[pak-marine]

Some achievment our useless law enforcement

CID arrests 3 militants in Karachi, recovers weapons cache

Published: June 24, 2011

The CID team had also seized two suicide vests, 25 kilograms of explosives and 222 rifles from the arrested. PHOTO: AFP
The Crime Investigation Department (CID) in Karachi arrested three men, suspected of being Jundullah and Tehreek-e-Nafaz-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) members.
Suspected Jundullah members, Rizwan Ali and Mohammad Salim were picked up from Hawks Bay.
According to the SSP CID, the two men were suspected of being involved in the 2009 Ashura blast and a bomb blast in Paposh Nagar.
The third man, Nazir Ahmed, is allegedly a commander in Swat, for the banned Maulana Fazlullah-led TTP.
The CID team had also seized two suicide vests, 25 kilograms of explosives and 222 rifles from the arrested.
The TNSM is an ally of the Pakistani Taliban and operate around Swat.
This arrest follows a series of arrests made over the past two months after the Abbottabad raid, post which, the US had pressurized Pakistan into taking action against militant and terrorist elements in the country. Lately, security forces have nabbed a number of TTP members in Karachi, a banned terrorist outfit that has vowed to step up its attacks against Pakistan to avenge Bin Laden’s death.

 

[KS]

This is shameless and ridiculous on the part of pakistani law enforcement agencies that they are not able to control the Karachi for so long...

look at the figure: last year 748 people got killed, previous to last year272 people got killed and in current year so many people are already dead.. the average per day is horrifying..

I think no city in the world apart from rule by dictator have so much violence..

I was shocked on seeing one documentary about one gang in Karachi (Uzair Baloch or Baba Ladla IIRC). The weapons they carry are G3s,HMGs,RPGs, AKs not Sickles or Pistol or double barrels. With such massive weapon culture nothing can be done.

 

[majesticpankaj]

US considers police one of the armed groups in Karachi: WikiLeaks

The latest leaked cables of WikiLeaks have revealed that the US considered Karachi police as just one of the many armed groups in the mega city which is not best equipped.
"The police are only one of several armed groups and probably not the most numerous or best equipped," US consul general Stephen Fakan wrote in an assessment in April 2009.
The assessment focuses on the Pakistan People's Party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Awami National Party, Muhajir Qaumi Movement (H), Sunni Tehreek and "Pashtun terrorists", besides some armed gangs operating in Lyari and other parts of this megapolis. It states that "the PPP's decision to include MQM in coalition governments in Sindh and at the centre has helped preclude a return to the PPP-MQM violence of the 1990s. But the potential for MQM-ANP conflict is growing as Pashtuns challenge Muhajir political dominance and vie for control of key economic interests, such as the lucrative trucking industry.
"Any sign that political violence is returning to Karachi, especially if it is related to the growing strength of conservative Pashtun 'Taliban', will send extremely negative shockwaves through the society and likely accelerate the flight from Pakistan of the business and intellectual elite of the society," the report says.
Assessing the overall situation that prevailed in the city, the cable adds that the police consider many neighbourhoods to be no-go zones in which even intelligence services have a difficult time operating.
"Very few of the groups are traditional criminal gangs. Most are associated with a political party, a social movement, or terrorist activity, and their presence in the volatile ethnic mix of the world's fourth largest city creates enormous political and governance challenges." About the presence of armed groups in the city, the US assessment mentions many par ties. It says that the MQM's armed members, referred to as "Good Friends", are the largest non-governmental armed element in the city and that "the police estimate MQM has ten thousand active armed members and as many as twenty-five thousand armed fighters in reserve."

According to the cable, the local police believes that "MQM-H still maintains its armed groups in the areas of Landhi and Korangi, and that the party will re-organise itself once its leadership is released from jail. MQM-H had broken from the main MQM and its strongholds in Landhi and Korangi were regarded as no-go zones. It was in 2003 that the MQM, as a precondition to join the government, asked for the elimination of the MQM-H. The local police and Rangers were used to crack down on MQM-H, and its leaders were put behind bars. The rank and file of MQM-H found refuge in a local religious/political party, Sunni Tehrik," the assessment reads.
The cable goes on to note that the "ST is a small religious/political group with a presence in small pockets of Karachi. The group has only managed to win a handful of council seats in local elections but militarily it is disproportionately powerful because of the influx of MQM-H gunmen. ST has organised the party and its gunmen along the lines of MQM by dividing its areas of influence into sectors and units, with sector and unit commanders".
About the PPP, the US diplomat comments that "traditionally the party has not run an armed wing, but the workers of the party do possess weapons, both licensed and unlicensed. With PPP . having an influential . Home Minister, a large number of weapons permits were currently being issued to PPP workers." He quotes a police official as having said that he believes, given the volume of weapons permits being issued to PPP members, that the party will soon be as well-armed as MQM.
The Awami National Party (ANP), says Mr Fakan, "represents the ethnic Pashtuns in Karachi" and has begun to "organise formal armed groups." Karachi's Pashtuns, he continues, "do possess personal weapons, following the tribal traditions of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). . With the onset of combat operations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in August 2008, a growing number of Pashtuns fled south to swell the Pashtun ranks of what already is the largest Pashtun city in the world. This has increased tensions between ANP and MQM.
"If rhetoric of the police and the ANP leadership is to be believed, these armed elements may be preparing to challenge MQM's control of Karachi," the cable adds. "In March [2009] the Karachi Police Special Branch submitted a report to the Inspector General of Police in which it mentioned the presence of 'hard-line' Pashtuns in the Sohrab Goth neighborhood." This report, according to the cable, said the neighborhood was "becoming a no go area for the police" and claimed "the Pashtuns are involved in drug trafficking and gun running and if police wanted to move in the area they had to do so in civilian clothing. A senior member of the Intelligence Bureau in Karachi recently opined that the ANP would not move against MQM until the next elections, but the police report ANP gunmen are already fighting MQM gunmen over protection-racket turf."

US considers police one of the armed groups in Karachi: WikiLeaks | Pakistan | News | Newspaper | Daily | English | Online

If it true..then it is very sad

 

[sukhish]

Some achievment our useless law enforcement

CID arrests 3 militants in Karachi, recovers weapons cache

Published: June 24, 2011

The CID team had also seized two suicide vests, 25 kilograms of explosives and 222 rifles from the arrested. PHOTO: AFP
The Crime Investigation Department (CID) in Karachi arrested three men, suspected of being Jundullah and Tehreek-e-Nafaz-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) members.
Suspected Jundullah members, Rizwan Ali and Mohammad Salim were picked up from Hawks Bay.
According to the SSP CID, the two men were suspected of being involved in the 2009 Ashura blast and a bomb blast in Paposh Nagar.
The third man, Nazir Ahmed, is allegedly a commander in Swat, for the banned Maulana Fazlullah-led TTP.
The CID team had also seized two suicide vests, 25 kilograms of explosives and 222 rifles from the arrested.
The TNSM is an ally of the Pakistani Taliban and operate around Swat.
This arrest follows a series of arrests made over the past two months after the Abbottabad raid, post which, the US had pressurized Pakistan into taking action against militant and terrorist elements in the country. Lately, security forces have nabbed a number of TTP members in Karachi, a banned terrorist outfit that has vowed to step up its attacks against Pakistan to avenge Bin Laden’s death.

I think it's another bangladesh in the making. India has realized that balochistan won't become and independent state unless sindh is separated from pakistan. balochinstan simply doesn't have that critical mass to become an independent nation.

 

[pak-marine]

About the presence of armed groups in the city, the US assessment mentions many par ties. It says that the MQM's armed members, referred to as "Good Friends", are the largest non-governmental armed element in the city and that "the police estimate MQM has ten thousand active armed members and as many as twenty-five thousand armed fighters in reserve."

what has to be added is MQM is defending against the thugs , other wise we would have long been taken over long ago like SWAT

 

[pak-marine]

I think it's another bangladesh in the making. India has realized that balochistan won't become and independent state unless sindh is separated from pakistan. balochinstan simply doesn't have that critical mass to become an independent nation.

hey troll , try coming up with a source for your stupid claims ...

 

[majesticpankaj]

At Least 30 Killed in Latest Karachi Violence

The politically motivated assassinations have continued through Sunday evening in Karachi, with the latest attacks bringing the toll of the latest round to at least 30 slain since Thursday night. Activists from four separate political factions have been slain in the attacks.

The violence has been breaking out in varying levels every few weeks in the key port city, the financial capital of Pakistan, reflecting the tension between the traditionally dominant Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP), a close ally of the ruling PPP that has massive support among the ethnic Pashtun residents who have flocked to the city from the tribal areas in recent years.

As with the previous attacks, police have failed to identify most of the attackers, and the various parties involved are all blaming the others for the situation. The killings and the lack of action have fueled growing anger among locals, and there are reports of protesters taking to the streets.

The shootings appear mostly random, except that they all seem to target political activists or bystanders. Many of the attacks involve motorcycle riders shooting a target and speeding off before they can be identified.

At Least 30 Killed in Latest Karachi Violence -- News from Antiwar.com

 

[majesticpankaj]

PAKISTAN: Karachi settlers haunted by violence

KARACHI, 20 January 2011 (IRIN) - In the courtyard of a busy hospital in Karachi, many different languages can be heard, as families chat to each other while waiting for consultations or to visit patients.

Urdu [the national language], and Sindhi, Punjabi, Pashto and Balochi - languages spoken in the country’s four provinces - can all be heard, along with some others used by the many ethnic and religious groups who make up the 15 million people living in the port city.

But once outside the public space where they have come together by accident, the groups only rarely mingle, making their way home to residences often based in localities where a particular group is dominant. Recently, mounting tensions between ethnic groups, and political rivalries that spur these on, have added to the unrest. These factors have also triggered violence, with 33 people killed and others injured in the latest outbreak of killings this month.

Last year, according to police, over 1,000 people died in murders carried out in most cases by gunmen who roamed the streets, appatently killing at random. The murders continued throughout the later months of the year.

Pathans, who have moved to Karachi from the northern province of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa over many decades, usually in a quest for jobs and an improved life; and Muhajirs, people who moved from India to Pakistan at the time of the violent partition of the sub-continent in 1947, are the chief victims of the murders, which follow a “tit-for-tat” pattern.

“Unemployment among young people is a factor in all this. Because such young people are at a loose end they can be quite easily exploited,” Faisel Edhi, trustee of the charitable Edhi Foundation, told IRIN.

Harrassment

The killings, and an operation by security forces in troubled localities across the city, have triggered fear. “There is an awful sense of harassment for us Pathans. My family has lived in Karachi for over 30 years, after moving here in the 1970s, but even now we are treated like unwanted outsiders,” Sheeraz Jan, 40, told IRIN. He said he and other Pathan families had been avoiding sending their children to school.

But the Pathan community is not alone in its fear. In the Orangi area, inhabited by many different ethnic groups, people say they have been detained by security forces for hours, or kept in their houses, as search operations continue. “I felt very harassed because about three paramilitary personnel entered my home and demanded I produce my national identity card. I was forced to stay there till I was able to reach my husband and ask him to bring it in, as he keeps it at his office in a file,” said Sajjida Siraj, 25.

Farooq Rashid, another resident of the area who is Punjabi, says security forces “detained me in my home for hours causing me to miss a day’s work, which I cannot really afford.” He is considering moving back to the Punjab with his family.

“It is sad people in this large city cannot learn to coexist,” said Ahsan Sidiqque, 55, a social worker.

Too many guns

Civil society activists have meanwhile been calling for a “deweaponization” of Karachi, a city in which there are believed to be over 20 million small arms.

According to a report by the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), a worldwide network against gun violence, Pakistan has one of the highest per-capita figures of gun ownership in the world.

Though official figures are not available, estimates put the number of small arms, licensed and unlicensed, in the country at more than 20m, the report added. Pakistan’s population is about 170 million, and rising fast.

“When so many people have arms, there is bound to be violence,” said Sidiqque.

IRIN Asia | PAKISTAN: Karachi settlers haunted by violence | Pakistan | Conflict | Governance | Migration

 

[majesticpankaj]

 

[majesticpankaj]

9 succumb to violence in Karachi

KARACHI: Nine people, including a woman, died in separate incidents of violence and mishaps in different parts of the metropolis on Tuesday.


An employee of the Fauji Fertilizer was shot dead near Jogi Mor by unknown bandits within the limits of Shah Latif police station. The incident took place at Jogi Mor when transport van of Fauji Fertilizer (JE-9739) was on its way to drop the employees back home after work. When it reached near Jogi Mor, two armed motorcyclists intercepted and tried to stop the van. The driver refusing to give up, tried to speed away from the bikers on which they opened fire. Resultantly, a company technician 22-year-old Ziaullah, son of Rahim received a bullet. The van driver, however, kept speeding away and finally lost the trailing motorcyclists. The injured technician was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) where he succumbed to his injuries.



SHO Mulazim Hussain said that the victim was a resident of Mominabad, Orangi Town, adding that he hailed from Punjab and was unmarried. Police have registered an FIR (295/11) against unidentified men on the complaint of factory officer Asmatullah and initiated probe.



Separately, a young man was shot dead near his house in Taiser Town within the remits of Surjani police station. The victim 20-year-old Naseem, son of Hanif, was a resident of sector 7-C Taiser Town and was standing outside his house, when at least three unidentified men arrived and shot him after an exchange of few hot words. The culprits managed to flee from the scene and Naseem was shifted in critical condition to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) where he breathed his last.



According to duty officer Khan Muhammad, victim’s elder brother Talat had married under freewill a few months ago and Talat’s in-laws had given him threats on the phone, adding that the victim’s family also believed that Talat’s in-laws were involved in the murder.



The officer further said that the victim was also linked to drug peddlers and police were also investigating in such probable pretext. However, police have registered an FIR (202/11) against his in-laws Javed, Arif and Humayun on the complaint of Talat and initiated the probe.



In another incident, bullet-riddled body of a teenager was found from Siraj-ud-Daula College ground in Liaquatabad within the jurisdiction of Sharifabad police station. The victim was later identified as Najm-ul-Haq, son of Mansoor, a resident of Apsra Apartments, Liaquatabad.



SHO Iqbal Sheikh said that the police also found a pistol near his body, adding that the victim had links to gangster and robber groups and his accomplices may have been involved in his murder. The body was shifted to ASH for medico-legal formalities and later handed over to the family.





The officer added that the victim had several cases of robberies registered against him. Police have registered a case against unidentified men and initiated investigation.



Meanwhile, a strangulated body of 24-year-old married woman was found in mysterious circumstances near Lasbela roundabout within the limits of Solider Bazar police station. The victim, identified as 23-year-old Poonam wife of Rajesh, was shifted to Civil Hospital Karachi for an autopsy. Police said that the body, half-bare and having several torture marks, was found in the washroom of a flat located at second floor of Prince Avenue near Lasbela roundabout. Though the autopsy report is yet to be finalised police officials feared that she might have been raped before the murder. Furthermore, officials said that the victim was a mother of a child while her spouse was at work when the incident took place. The victim’s husband, Rajesh is a waiter at a three-star hotel. No case could be registered till filing of this report.



Separately, a man was gunned down while two others injured in Banaras within the precincts of Pirabad police station. The incident took place near Rehman Hospital, Banaras, Orangi Town, where a clash between two armed groups occurred. As a result Iqbal 35, son of Adam Saaz received a bullet and died on the spot, while two others Faqeer, son of Habib-ur-Rehman and Sardar, son of Wazeer sustained injuries. The body and injured were shifted to ASH for medico-legal formalities and medical treatment.



SP Khurram Waris informed one 9mm pistol was found near the body of victim, adding that the victim used to run an estate agency in Ittehad Town and had clashed with the rival group who hailed from Hazara. Waris said that the victim was allegedly a land grabber, which may have been the reason behind his murder. The victim hailed from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and was a resident of the Frontier Colony, Orangi Town. No case could be registered till filing of this report.



In another incident, a man died while the other was injured during a brawl near Sindh Madressatul Islam within the remits of Mithadar police station. The victim, 22-year-old Adam Khan, son of Mehboob Khan, was resident of a compound situated near Sindh Madressatul Islam. In the wee hours of Tuesday, he had a scuffle with his relatives namely Asal Khan and Azmat, during which they attacked each other with daggers. As a result, Adam was fatally stabbed and died on the spot, while Asal sustained injuries, whereas Azmat managed to flee. Police shifted the body and injured to CHK.



Police said that the victim was a labour by profession and used to live with his relatives in the same compound. Police arrested Asal and further investigation into the incident is underway.

9 succumb to violence in Karachi | Pakistan Criminal Records

 

[S.M.R]

what is happening in karachi ?? hundreds are being killed ?? where is law enforcement forces ??

They are sleeping. Rangers is almost 'halted' due to that extra judicial killing of a boy. I am of the view that Security forces should be given blanket shoot at sight orders for anyone weaving weapon in his hands. This is the only way to control karachi.

 

[majesticpankaj]

They are sleeping. Rangers is almost 'halted' due to that extra judicial killing of a boy. I am of the view that Security forces should be given blanket shoot at sight orders for anyone weaving weapon in his hands. This is the only way to control karachi.

do u now want a state sponsored terrorism in ur country??

 

[S.M.R]

its 12th May 2007 video, showing clash of ANP and MQM. the people which are on road belong to ANP.