In “target killing”, a leader or worker of the rival political party, sect, mafia or a gang is selected to be shot dead.  In addition to that there are torture killings.  On an average, more than six persons are killed everyday like this.  In the past six months, about 300 persons have been killed.  

The target killing is posing a serious threat to the fragile democracy.  Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), a party of  post-1947 Urdu speaking  migrants from India, is a coalition partner in the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led Governments in Sindh and at the centre in Islamabad.  The MQM alleges the PPP is behind the killings of its workers in Karachi.  

The MQM Provincial and National Assemblies’ Members have told the party’s central leadership that they should be allowed to pull out from the two coalition governments and sit in the opposition.  

The PPP on the other hand, accuses the MQM of target killing of its workers in Karachi.  Political analysts say the PPP Government can survive in Sindh without MQM’s support but the PPP Government at the centre will be in a serious trouble if this party’s 25 members in the National Assembly quit the coalition and join the opposition.  At a time when some powerful forces in the country are trying hard to dislodge the PPP from power, the MQM’s disassociation with the Federal Government will be fatal for democracy in Pakistan.

Target killings have been happening in Karachi for some months now but what brought this city into focus again was the murderous bomb attack on a Shias’ Muharrum procession on December 28 followed by well-organized arson and looting at least for two days.  Many people felt the looting was pre-planned.  Questions like this generate conspiracy theories in Pakistan.  One faction of Taliban accepted the responsibility for the bomb attack on the procession.  More than 50 people died and it was estimated that property worth Rs.300 crores was looted or destroyed.
 
There were reported suggestions by the MQM leaders that Karachi be handed over to the Army.  Lyari is facing the brunt of the violence in Karachi. Here security forces have launched crackdown on the local population.  There are demands that this crackdown be extended to other parts of Karachi.  

Lyari is important.  One, it has always been a stronghold of the PPP.  Secondly, it is a pocket of poor Baluch settlers from Iran. They generally get the blame for violence in Karachi.  

The present crackdown has evoked a bitter reaction from Baluchistan.  There were agitations throughout Baluchistan on January 12.  The Baluchistan National Party (BNP), which organized these agitations, warned that hunger strike camps would be set up in the province if the crackdown on Lyari was not stopped immediately.  The Provincial Chief Minister also protested.

The Baluchs in Lyari support the PPP.  They suffer the most even when there are Sindhi-Muhajir (MQM) riots.  They are a poor labour class which can be easily exploited by drug runners and now also by terrorist groups.  

For example, on January 8 a house was blown up mysteriously.  It was learnt later that house was rented by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.  Police found suicide jackets, mobiles and jihadi literature in the rubbles of the house.
 
As mentioned above, Karachi has a population close to 2 crores (or, to be exact 1.8 crores).  The population is made up of Urdu-speaking Muhajirs, Sindhis, Bangladeshis, Pashtuns, Baluch, Punjabis, tribals  of Federally  Administrative Tribal Areas (FATA) and Kashmiris.  

Urdu speaking migrants from India controlled Karachi unchallenged till 1960 when Gen Ayub Khan shifted the capital of Pakistan to Islamabad.  That broke Muhajirs monopoly of Government jobs.  In 1969, General Yahya Khan removed a whole lot of muhajir civil servants.

Muhajirs’ economic interests were badly hurt in 1972 when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Prime Minister, nationalized banks, insurance, some industrial establishments and educational institutions.  Muhajirs monopoly in Government jobs in Sindh was because of Urdu.  In 1972, Bhutto also made Sindhi as an official language along with Urdu.
 
Hatred has always marked the relationship between Sindhis and Muhajirs right since 1947 although because of their common grouse against Punjabis and the Army there have been some spells of reconciliation as after the February 2008 elections when they formed coalition governments in Sindh and at the centre in Islamabad.   

Sindhis consider the PPP as their own party.  To counter PPP’s influence in Sindh, the Army helped in the formation of Muhajir Quami Movement in the 1980s.  The PPP and the MQM ran their torture cells to kill workers of their rival partners.  These were incidents of skinning them alive.  Benazir  described MQM as a terrorist group.  

When the Army felt the MQM was getting too big for its boots, it split it into two warring factions.  As a result, about 2500 people were killed in inter and intra ethnic fights during 1995 when Benazir Bhutto ruled Pakistan as its Prime Minister.  It was a triangular war: PPP vs. MQM (Altaf Hussain) vs. MQM (Haqiqi).  In addition, there were hundreds of deaths due to extra-judicial killings by the Army.   
 
After General Pervez Musharraf captured power in October, 1999, he made up with the MQM (Altaf Hussain) and cracked down on the MQM (Haqiqi).  Since then this faction has lost the Army’s support in terms of weapons, cash and guidance and has been lying low.  But it has not reconciled to its mother faction.  It claims that it suffered the most during he current target-killings.  It has lost many more workers than any other party.  

In addition to the PPP, MQM (Altaf Hussain) and MQM (Haqiqi), now there are Pashtuns, who
are accused of trying to Talibanise Karachi.  There are Jihadi groups who spread sectarian terror.  There are hardcore terrorist groups, who operate from Karachi against India, Iran, Afghanistan and against Pakistan’s own interests.  In other words, Karachi has become den of anti-social activities.  

Sectarian terrorist groups like Sipah-e-Sahaba, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and others freely operate in Karachi.  So do official terrorists like Lashkar-i-Tayyaba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.  Then there is growing number of Taliban, who allegedly indulge in criminal activities like dacoities, kidnapping for ransom, waylaying and car thefts.  All this to make money to be sent to warring Taliban in Waziristan.  From Karachi, they carry out some of their terrorist activities against India though they are Punjab based.  

Political leaders show no maturity or, rather will, to deal with the situation.  So far nobody has been arrested for the bomb attack on Shias’ procession.  Political leaders, on the contrary, are alleged to be the patrons of mafias and terrorist organizations.  

President Asif Zardari, during his stay in Karachi late last month, brought provincial PPP and MQM leaders in the Governor’s House and made them agree to a peace plan.  How effective this plan proves, only the time can tell.  The antagonists of the PPP rule at the centre and terrorist organizations will certainly try to sabotage it.