It is sad to watch the largest city of Pakistan, one that generates the largest chunk of revenue and provide jobs and shelter to Pakistanis from every nook and corner (and even across the borders) of the country, entangled in a bloody mess called "target killings".
Before getting any further, lets first define what is a "target killing". Generally, it is perceived that when someone is assassinated due to his/her affiliation with any political, religious, ethnic or other group, the killing is said to be targeted.
If this definition is taken as valid, it depicts a nerve chilling scenario where the society has lost its cool and where individuals, and groups, believe that killing someone is the solution of a problem, or is the only way to make a point.
Karachi, to a keen observer who can see through the crap spread by politicians and media alike, is a jungle full of deadly predators. There are swamps of drug-pushers and arms-dealers, dense bushes full of thugs and street criminals and schools of piranhas representing mafias, political, ethnic and religious terrorists of all sorts.
Karachities are forced to live amongst all this chaos and mayhem, while those responsible for public safety have scores of armed vehicles escorting their movement across the city. The Law Enforcing Authorities (LEAs) including the Police and Rangers are nothing more than silent spectators in the face of killings and arson. The "elected representatives" feel no shame or humiliation when people of their constituency die in cold blood. The political parties, claiming support of masses, do nothing but blame all and sundry. The opposition is silent, so is the Judiciary. The preachers of Islam, the civil society, the intelligentsia, no one is doing anything while Karachi bleeds daily, and dies a slow and painful death.
MQM blames ANP for target killings, ANP accuses MQM for lying, while Rehman Malik says a third element is involved.
These "target killings" are not just limited to MQM and ANP. Almost every political, and otherwise, group in Karachi has lost, or claim of losing, workers and "supporters" to target killings. It seems that either these groups have got into a death race of some sort, killing each other off, or there is some other element active in Karachi, stealthily killing members of rival groups so that the remaining ones can tear each other apart, leaving the ground for the one behind scenes.
From another perspective, some say that this is a war to occupy as much land as possible, with MQM delving into Pushtoon, Baloch and Punjabi dominant areas, and vice versa.
How long these target killings would haunt Karachities? No one has the answer, for sure.
Image: DayLife
Cross posted at Chowrangi.com