http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta3/tft/article.php?issue=20121116&page=2
With at least 2,017 people dead this year so far, there are no signs violence in Karachi will subside. As political, ethnic and territorial anger wanes, there has been a surge in sectarian violence.
"The violence has shifted from political and mafia wars to sectarian killings," said CID officer Fayyaz Khan. At least 40 people belonging to the Shia faith were targeted in Karachi in January this year. About 63 were killed in February, 14 in March, 47 in April, 20 in May, 37 in June, 20 in July, 53 in August, 45 in September, and 37 in October. In November so far, 41 people from the Shia sect have been killed. According to police data, 41 operatives of Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat have also been killed this year.
North Nazimabad, Sohrab Goth, Ancholi, New Karachi and North Karachi are the worst hit areas, primarily because of the large number of madrassas in these neighbourhoods and the demographic stress because of an influx of IDPs from Swat and Waziristan.
Sectarian tempers rose recently with the arrival of Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi of ASWJ in Karachi. He announced a rally on the first of Muharram. But Ludhianvi said his party did not believe in violence. "ASWJ is an ideological force which has nothing to do with violence. We don't have death squads," he said. "Our people have been killed by the agents of Iran and the media has been silent, but we are asking our workers not to retaliate. But I don't know for how long I can stop them."
A top IB official said Shia community leaders were also ready to respond to any violence in Muharram.
"It is not just the Shias," says Sarwat Ejaz Qadri, the leader of Sunni Tehrik. "We are being killed by ASWJ operatives as well. They are operating with total immunity with the backing of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan." He said 51 workers of his party had been killed in New Karachi and North Nazimabad since 2011.
The Sunni Tehrik, a political and religious organization, was formed by Riaz Hussain Shah of Multan in 1992, to defend the interests of Barelvi Muslims. The group opposed giving key government offices related to religion to Deobandis, especially those from the Binori Town Mosque in Karachi, which was then headed by Nizamuddin Shamzai.
Shamzai was killed on May 30, 2004, and his son, nephew and driver were wounded when armed men ambushed their vehicle in front of the mosque and madrassa compound. The assassination occurred three weeks after a powerful bomb killed 15 Shia worshippers in Hyderi Mosque. There were speculations that Shias had avenged the attack.
A day after Shamzai's assassination, at least 24 worshippers were killed and 34 others injured when a high-intensity bomb exploded during the evening prayers at a Shia mosque on MA Jinnah Road in Karachi. A top intelligence said it was "a tit-for-tat reaction". "We are helpless," he said. "We can't afford another Red Mosque, not in Karachi for heaven's sake."
Reports on November 13 said Karachi police had arrested four men who it said belonged to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. The arrests are linked to the recent unrest. Earlier, a joint investigation team questioned Rahimullah, also said to be an LeJ member. He was arrested during a joint raid between Attock and Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and is the mastermind behind the November 4, 2006 Nishtar Park bombing in Karachi.
It was on Rahimullah's information that the Intelligence Bureau, CID and police conducted a raid on a Baldia Town house and arrested three men after an exchange of gunfire. According to the police, Sultan Omer, Siddique Mehsud and Zubair Bengali were suicide bombers from Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
Sultan is the brother of Sultan Saifullah (who carried out the Nishtar Park suicide attack), Siddique is a relative of Baitullah Mehsud, and Zubair is related to Abdul Karim Bengali, the suicide bomber who had killed Allama Hassan Turabi.
Rahimullah said the men had been trained for suicide bombing in Waziristan and had come to Karachi on missions assigned by their leader Qari Zafar. He said they had been funded by Abid Mehsud, a commander of the Baitullah Mehsud group. One of the men, police said, had connections with the assassinated Mufti Amin of Jamia Binoria, police said.
Rahimullah also told the investigators he had helped the suicide attacker who had killed Allama Hassan Turbai, and Sultan Saifullah, the Nishtar Park bomber. He drove both of them to their destinations.
Despite the arrests, violence in Karachi is expected to continue. But politicians from the People's Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement refuse to take the blame. "We are doing whatever is in our capacity to stop this violence," Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah said. Governor Ishratul Ebad has also urged leaders to ensure sectarian harmony.
"I hold the PPP and the MQM responsible for my loss," said Hassan Raza, whose 28-year-old brother Taqi Raza was killed in North Nazimabad recently. "My brother had no connection with any political party," he said. "He was killed because he was a Shia."
"The violence has shifted from political and mafia wars to sectarian killings," said CID officer Fayyaz Khan. At least 40 people belonging to the Shia faith were targeted in Karachi in January this year. About 63 were killed in February, 14 in March, 47 in April, 20 in May, 37 in June, 20 in July, 53 in August, 45 in September, and 37 in October. In November so far, 41 people from the Shia sect have been killed. According to police data, 41 operatives of Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat have also been killed this year.
North Nazimabad, Sohrab Goth, Ancholi, New Karachi and North Karachi are the worst hit areas, primarily because of the large number of madrassas in these neighbourhoods and the demographic stress because of an influx of IDPs from Swat and Waziristan.
Sectarian tempers rose recently with the arrival of Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi of ASWJ in Karachi. He announced a rally on the first of Muharram. But Ludhianvi said his party did not believe in violence. "ASWJ is an ideological force which has nothing to do with violence. We don't have death squads," he said. "Our people have been killed by the agents of Iran and the media has been silent, but we are asking our workers not to retaliate. But I don't know for how long I can stop them."
A top IB official said Shia community leaders were also ready to respond to any violence in Muharram.
"It is not just the Shias," says Sarwat Ejaz Qadri, the leader of Sunni Tehrik. "We are being killed by ASWJ operatives as well. They are operating with total immunity with the backing of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan." He said 51 workers of his party had been killed in New Karachi and North Nazimabad since 2011.
The Sunni Tehrik, a political and religious organization, was formed by Riaz Hussain Shah of Multan in 1992, to defend the interests of Barelvi Muslims. The group opposed giving key government offices related to religion to Deobandis, especially those from the Binori Town Mosque in Karachi, which was then headed by Nizamuddin Shamzai.
Shamzai was killed on May 30, 2004, and his son, nephew and driver were wounded when armed men ambushed their vehicle in front of the mosque and madrassa compound. The assassination occurred three weeks after a powerful bomb killed 15 Shia worshippers in Hyderi Mosque. There were speculations that Shias had avenged the attack.
A day after Shamzai's assassination, at least 24 worshippers were killed and 34 others injured when a high-intensity bomb exploded during the evening prayers at a Shia mosque on MA Jinnah Road in Karachi. A top intelligence said it was "a tit-for-tat reaction". "We are helpless," he said. "We can't afford another Red Mosque, not in Karachi for heaven's sake."
Reports on November 13 said Karachi police had arrested four men who it said belonged to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. The arrests are linked to the recent unrest. Earlier, a joint investigation team questioned Rahimullah, also said to be an LeJ member. He was arrested during a joint raid between Attock and Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and is the mastermind behind the November 4, 2006 Nishtar Park bombing in Karachi.
It was on Rahimullah's information that the Intelligence Bureau, CID and police conducted a raid on a Baldia Town house and arrested three men after an exchange of gunfire. According to the police, Sultan Omer, Siddique Mehsud and Zubair Bengali were suicide bombers from Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
Sultan is the brother of Sultan Saifullah (who carried out the Nishtar Park suicide attack), Siddique is a relative of Baitullah Mehsud, and Zubair is related to Abdul Karim Bengali, the suicide bomber who had killed Allama Hassan Turabi.
Rahimullah said the men had been trained for suicide bombing in Waziristan and had come to Karachi on missions assigned by their leader Qari Zafar. He said they had been funded by Abid Mehsud, a commander of the Baitullah Mehsud group. One of the men, police said, had connections with the assassinated Mufti Amin of Jamia Binoria, police said.
Rahimullah also told the investigators he had helped the suicide attacker who had killed Allama Hassan Turbai, and Sultan Saifullah, the Nishtar Park bomber. He drove both of them to their destinations.
Despite the arrests, violence in Karachi is expected to continue. But politicians from the People's Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement refuse to take the blame. "We are doing whatever is in our capacity to stop this violence," Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah said. Governor Ishratul Ebad has also urged leaders to ensure sectarian harmony.
"I hold the PPP and the MQM responsible for my loss," said Hassan Raza, whose 28-year-old brother Taqi Raza was killed in North Nazimabad recently. "My brother had no connection with any political party," he said. "He was killed because he was a Shia."
