The city of Quaid was once the city of lights but now it is suffering from the disease of target killing. Many lives have been lost including innocent citizens. The fire of target killing has engulfed hundreds of people from every school of thought. Religious figure-heads, political leader and workers, engineers, professors, doctors, bureaucrats, even children of lower middle class have been killed. The MQM blames ANP for target killing; ANP accuses MQM for lying while Rehman Malik says a third element is involved. These target killings are not just limited to political workers. Karachi has been reeling under the violent seismic activity along its ethnic and political fault line, not the collision of geological plates nearby.
Its a vicious cycle, round circle. People get killed, parties play blame game, police arrest some people, and then political clout get those people out of police custody. And then all of a sudden all these killings stop, and then mysteriously start again after a lull.
Karachi is a strange city there is land mafia which grabs government land to make illegal buildings at will. The Nazism, bureaucrats and criminals have entered an unholy alliance to take over public/park land for their own profit. Despite governments strong intervention to check the political violence that broke out a few days ago in the city, there is no sign that the security situation will stabilise soon. And who knows how long this city will suffer from all this.
SADIA ZAHEER
Garrison University, Lahore
