Hundreds of extra paramilitary troops have been deployed in Karachi which is struggling to end violence that has killed 58 people in five days, officials said on Wednesday.
Authorities are battling to halt gunfights raging across the city where political, ethnic and criminal rivalries left more than 200 people dead last month.
The provincial government is offering 10 million rupees ($115,000) to the citizens who will provide information leading to arrests of those responsible for the violence.
Local government official Sharfuddin Memon told AFP that the extra paramilitary soldiers and policemen entered the city’s troubled western neighbourhoods on Tuesday night. “Some suspects have been detained,” after conducting house to house searches, he added.
MQM chief Altaf Hussain addressed his followers by telephone and invited the military to come to Karachi and see who was involved in “the ongoing terrorism”.
“I also request the international community to use its influence on the Pakistani government to restore law and order in Karachi,” he added, warning that the situation could worsen if not “tackled seriously”.
