Target killing Targeted killing is the intentional killing–by a government or its agents–of a civilian or “ unlawful combatant” targeted by the government, who is not in the government’s custody In Pakistan, target killings have been a rising form of violence and have contributed to security instability in the country. They have become common and have gained attention especially in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and economic capital. Police and law enforcement agencies have sometimes come under criticism for their ineffectiveness in locating the perpetrators and their motives.
For most of the part, target killings in Karachi have been attributed to political, religious and ethnic reasons. Karachi is a cosmopolitan city and consists of many ethnic communities; the city’s demographics play an important role in its politics. Ethnic politics have resulted in sporadic violence throughout Karachi’s history, often leading to bloody conflicts Target Killing in Pakistan’s economical hub karachi increases day by day “ Target killing” is generally perceived that when someone is assassinated due to his/her connection with any political, religious, ethnic or other group, the killing is said to be targeted.
Karachi is a multi-ethnic city and consists of many ethnic groups. Karachi’s location plays an important role in its politics. Because of these ethnic politics regular violence started all over Karachi. This violence often changes into bloody conflicts. Following the Partition of India and the independence in 1947, Muslims migrated from areas of newly India into the newly-created Muslim nation of Pakistan and became settled in Karachi, the historical capital of the Sindh. These migrants had educated middle-class to upper class backgrounds and came from good families they came to be known as Muhajir people.
They dominated much of Karachi’s businesses society. In 1971 after the separation of East Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh, Pakistan accepted a large number of Biharis people who are faithful to the country, fascinated in Bangladesh and offered them citizenship. Some Bengalis in Pakistan also stayed behind. Karachi’s as a regional industrial centre attracted migrants from other parts of Pakistan as well, including Punjab, Baluchistan and Pashtu migrants from the border lines. Further to this were Iranians, Arabs, as well as number of Afghan refugees who came to Karachi, primarily after the Soviet nvasion of Afghanistan. Some of the Afghan and Pashtun migration brought ethnic and sectarian violence and also giving rise to large number of culture differences. The ethnic violence created when political parties were being associated with a specific group. For example the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was founded for the political interests of the Muhajir people. Other groups also formed their parties. Today, when rivalry between groups has started then social and political disorder also increased.
Religious, sectarian parties and Sunni-Shia conflict have also main reason of violence. On top of this are the drug mafia and criminal gangs, active in drugs and weapons trade. Since the mid-1990s, targeted killings and other forms of violence in Karachi have reached their peak. In 1990, 294 people in Karachi killed by terrorists. Targeted killing in Karachi has the following dimensions, most important are; political rivalries and territory wars between political parties, ethnic and sectarian factors, intra-party wars, external factors, gang wars etc.
Karachi remains the only urban area in Pakistan to have faced a full-fledged army operation in the 1990s in which more than 25, 000 had been killed, of which 15, 000 belonged to the MQM alone In 2009, 256 people including 69 workers of the MQM, 60 of Muhajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H), 28 of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and 23 of the Awami National Party (ANP) and 41 of religious groups were killed. According to official sources at least 436 people have been killed in just 4 months in 2011 because of the armed clashes among different ethnic, religious, political and different groups and target killings in Karachi.
Day to day death counting showed that such incidents, only in the month of March, claimed over 190 lives in the city. But Karachi police surprisingly, hiding the original figures, estimated the counting of killed persons at only 109 from January to March. Karachi has been victim of target killing and violence. In March in only 36 hours, 18 people died in several incidents happened in different areas of Karachi. The major incident of target killing had taken place in Kharadar After that incident; violence broke out in many areas of the city which caused many killings in Karachi.
On this day another bus was set on fire by the forced group of people in consequence of killing of a worker belonged to a political party. In may 2011 Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that the Rangers played key role in eliminating targeted killing in Karachi and a single incident should not be used to malign the whole force. According to him Media have no right to damaging and unnecessarily criticized the secret agencies as they upset more than 1100 terror plots.
He claims that the Rangers and police officials should also be appreciated who sacrificed their lives inline with their duty. 48 police officers were killed by criminal elements in Karachi during last five months. On 8th July 2011 President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari ordered Sindh government to ensure people’s safety and also ensure protection of precious human lives in Karachi, and ensured him of every possible help from the central government in this regard.
On 9th July 2011 The Sindh government authorized the Rangers to exercise the powers of police officers to use necessary force to prevent terrorist acts as steps promised and taken until now failed to stop killings in Karachi and 30 people died during violence. The elected representatives in Karachi feel no shame when people of their public die in this violence. No one is doing anything while Karachi dies a slow and painful death. MQM blames ANP for target killings, ANP blame MQM for lying, and while Rehman Malik says a third element is involved behind all these violence.
MQM and ANP are mainly involved in target killing. Now a days War between these parties because of the killing of each other members or there is some other element also active in Karachi. From another perspective, some say that this is a war to occupy as much land as possible, with MQM search into Pashtun, Baloch and Punjabi dominant areas, and vice versa. How long these target killings would continue in Karachi? No one has the answer, for sure.
