ISLAMABAD – With twelve more people being killed on Wednesday, the death toll from the latest wave of ethnically fuelled violence over the past three days in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi rose to 47. Officials said that 11 persons were shot dead on Tuesday while 24 people had been reportedly killed on Monday. Around 240 people were killed in shootings and other attacks in July, making it the worst month on record.
Struggling to halt gunfights raging across the city, the government has deployed hundreds of extra paramilitary troops in Karachi. “House-to-house searches are going on and some suspects have been detained,” local government official Sharfuddin Memon said.
The government also offered rewards for people willing to provide photographs and videos that show those involved in the killings. With ethnically divided population of 18 million to 20 million, Karachi suffered deadly violence throughout the 1980s, 1990s and during the previous few years.
Officials, political workers and observers said that armed groups supported by Pakistan’s main political parties, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Awami National Party (ANP) are responsible for the ongoing violence in Karachi. According to security officials, senior politicians are protecting many of those involved in the killings. They say the violence will continue until security forces are allowed to arrest the culprits. Police officials say the groups are controlled by criminals.
