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.