Coming full circle: violence in Karachi By Cyril Almeida
Wednesday, 25 Aug, 2010
KARACHI: The spate of target killings in the city is a political problem that shows every sign of worsening in the weeks and months ahead. In the first two weeks of August alone, over 140 people were killed in tit-for-tat violence following the killing of an MQM MPA and an ANP politician.
In a series of conversations with Dawn, politicians, senior security officials and analysts attempted to explain why, in their view, violence has swelled in Karachi this year. Given the nature of the issue, most requested their names be withheld.
According to data collected by the police, target killings began in the city soon after the February 2008 elections. Falling into several categories ethnic, sectarian and terrorist/militant the killings have spiked this year, with 228 deaths recorded between January and early August.
The MQM argues that the killings are linked to various mafias and militant outfits operating in the city and given protection by the ANP in Pakhtun neighbourhoods
According to Haider Abbas Rizvi, deputy parliamentary leader of the MQM, several groups are responsible for the violence in the city: One, the land mafia and the drug mafia; two, the Taliban; and three, political party leaders supporting the Taliban and land mafias.
Referring to these groups, Waseem Akhtar, the MQM Sindh home minister in the previous government, claimed: The ANP is protecting them.
Shahi Syed, the ANP president in Sindh, dismisses the allegations, They want to make all of us out to be a Taliban. Its nonsense.
Away from the public claims, however, there is a consensus that the target killings are linked to a violent fight over control of the lucrative city of Karachi, a primarily ethnic battle that is increasingly overlaid with sectarian and militant violence.Weve come full circle,
a senior newspaper editor said. In the mid-80s, the MQM took on the Pakhtuns, then it was MQM vs Sindhi, then it was MQM vs MQM. Now it feels like the 80s are back.
Privately, much of the present violence is blamed on the MQM.
A senior security official said, Weve got 14 or 15 boys in custody, each responsible for 17, 18 deaths. The interrogation reports detail everything, the sectors, the places they met, the motorcycles and weapons used, everything.
The official added, And if you think these are just forced confessions, these are Joint Investigation Teams, on which everyone, the MI, the ISI, the agencies, everyone is on board and signs the reports.
The ANP is not without blame, however. Analysts and officials believe that the party is complicit in part of the violence, directly through its armed cadres and indirectly by giving protection to Pakhtun militants.
A senior ANP leader hinted as much: Do you think Im crazy? I get no respect from them (the MQM) and you think Im going to weed out these guys (militants) from my areas? (Expletive deleted) them.
In the murky world of Karachi politics, it is difficult to explain why exactly ethnic strife has re-emerged in the city.
Broadly, however, analysts point to two factors: one, a demographic shift in the city; and two, the rise of the ANP.
The MQM, while adamantly denying there is a violent aspect to their concerns, frets about internal migration.
Every year, one million people are added to Karachi, according to Haider Abbas Rizvi, but only 300,000 are due to the natural growth in the population already here. The 700,000 who come here every year, they want to share in the resources, but they arent ready to share the problems.
Analysts suggest that Pakhtun migration to Karachi following military operations in Fata and the northern Pakistan has raised the hackles of the MQM the party allegedly fears that the IDPs may be absorbed by the Pakhtun population of Karachi, never to return.
Look at the people who are being killed: rickshaw drivers, pushcart owners, labourers, carpet and hardware shop owners, shoe polishers, a veteran Karachi journalist said.
Thats exactly the kind of jobs youd expect Pakhtuns coming to the city to take up. The message is clear: if we cant stop you from coming here, at least we can slow the tide.
The other factor appears to be the rise of the ANP.
Ten years ago, the ANP was nowhere. There were JUI Pakhtuns, Jamaati Pakhtuns, PPP Pakhtuns, but very few ANP Pakhtuns. Now the ANPs graph is on the rise, according to a former city editor.
In the 2008 provincial elections, the ANP won two Sindh Assembly seats from Karachi for the first time. Two seats is a fraction of the 42 directly elected provincial seats available in the city, but the ANP victories were not considered freak occurrences.If there was no ballot stuffing and if the constituencies are drawn fairly, wed win 10, maybe 12 seats, Shahi Syed claimed.
That claim, however, is rubbished by the MQM. We got 21 lakh votes (from Karachi), what did they get? Peanuts. Theres no ANP electoral threat, said Haider Abbas Rizvi.
Waseem Akhtar was also sceptical: Even if these people (Pakhtun migrants) are coming to Karachi, its not like they have the right to vote here. Their vote will be in their hometowns. Why should we care?
Overlaying the ethnic conflict is the militant nexus that appears to have developed between political parties and banned sectarian and militant groups.
While dismissing MQM claims of the Talibanisation of Karachi, ANP leaders quietly admit there are Taliban elements in the city and that many seek refuge in Pakhtun areas.
Then there are the killings of a sectarian nature that appear to have become linked with a bitter war being fought between the Muttahida (the MQM proper) and the Haqiqi (a splinter faction).
The picture here is even murkier. According to analysts and security officials, militant wings of Shia groups began to target SSP and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi leaders in 2009, presumably as revenge for the killings of Shias.
Because the Haqiqi is believed to have developed a tactical alliance with the SSP and LeJ a survival strategy, as one analyst described it the Sunni militant outfits are understood to be targeting Shia MQM leaders in retaliation.
Sometimes its difficult for us to figure out whats going on, a newspaper city editor said. A reporter comes in and says, Its ethnic. Then, hours later, it looks like something else, No, its sectarian. Its very murky.
Curbing the violence, analysts agree, is ultimately a question of politics.
This isnt a police, law-enforcement issue. Its a political problem, according to Sharfuddin Memon, former chief of the CPLC. How do you stop boys on motorcycles spraying bullets into the back of a particular car?
CCPO Waseem Ahmed suggests that, long term, only two things could reduce ethnic and political violence in the city: First, deweaponisation. Everyone blames the police, but go ask the political parties why they never talk about deweaponisation. In addition, Mr Ahmed said that the criminal-justice system needs to be overhauled. A terrorist is like a car-lifter now, he gets caught, then hes back on the streets in a couple of years, then he does it again, gets caught again, its a joke.
At present, however, few are optimistic that the violence will subside.
For one, the PPP-led government in Sindh appears incapable of getting the warring sides to back off.
A Sindh government official said, After Mian sahib (Nawaz Sharif) quit the coalition, the MQM got a free hand. They know they are key now (to the coalition government in Islamabad), so they are demanding their pound of flesh. But their demands keep going up.
A senior security official suggested: The answer doesnt lie in Karachi, its in Islamabad. Bring all the leaders in a room and have the army chief there to guarantee the peace. He needs to say, Cut it out or we will smash you like we did before. Theyll quickly fall into line then.
Barring that, few are optimistic that the violence will come down.
In fact, some experts point out that Karachi, having come full circle, is a much more dangerous and complex city than it was 30 years ago.
People dont get it. This isnt the 80s, a senior police official warned. The city is awash in weapons, all sides, everyones got them. And this new element (militant groups) makes it even more difficult.
The only way to avoid a conflagration?
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect...ge/coming-full-circle-violence-in-karachi-580
