Over 100 political activists killed since Jan
PAKISTAN - 27 JULY 2010
Over 100 political activists have been gunned down in Karachi since the turn of the year.
The present spate of targeted killings is not the first of its kind; this phenomenon was first witnessed in the 1990s and re-emerged at various points in time, with most murders borne out of ethnic politics or political infighting.
Targeted killings are a vicious cycle. Once someone is targeted, a wave of killings is triggered as criminal elements exploit the murder as an opportunity to settle their own scores, a senior police officer, requesting anonymity, told The News.
Karachi has a history of ethnic conflicts, sectarian violence, as well as intra and inter-party tensions. One has to take into account indigenous social, political and economic factors to understand and pre-empt ethnic violence in the city, sources said.
The main reasons behind ethnic violence include aspirations of maintaining political hegemony, land-grabbing to provide shelter to respective ethnic communities, economic benefits accrued from limited resources, strengthening strongholds in particular areas, and the misuse of ethnic associations, the officer explained.
Sources told The News that criminal elements such as the land grabbers, drug mafias, gangsters, and illegal arms suppliers are operating in the city, but their activities continue unabated. However, when these elements run into each other over some contentious issue, an armed clash ensues becoming the cause of target killings.
Extortion and bribe is another important factor to consider in target killings, sources claimed. Moreover, warring religious factions also resort to target killing to settle their scores, sources added.
In the fresh wave of targeted killings, activists of Haqiqi, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Awami National Party (ANP), and even the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have mostly been gunned down. As far as sectarian killings are concerned, activists of the defunct Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) were mostly targeted in the recent spate of violence.
Most of these men were recently released on bail, and their adversaries took advantage of their free movement to gun them down.
In both clashes, innocent people lose their lives. In the first kind, rickshaw drivers, dumper drivers, cobblers etc are killed, while in the second, doctors from various sects are targeted, sources said.
When asked about the apparent impotency of the law enforcement agencies in curbing targeted killings, sources places the blame squarely on political forces, claiming that despite apprehending criminals, they receive orders to release those men.
It is not as if the police did not catch any criminals involved in target killings. But often enough, when a mobile is heading towards the police station after an encounter or during an investigation, they immediately receive directions to release the suspect held by them, sources said. In such a scenario, how can anyone blame the police?
Despite having verified information regarding criminals involved in target killings, the police are not given any clear directions from their superiors to arrest these perpetrators of violence a situation exacerbated by the fact that the police superiors are restrained, sources alleged.
More than 200 officers and sepoys who took part in the late 1990s have been martyred during the past five to six years, sources said. The aftermath of the operation was terrifying, as the cops who valiantly took part in returning peace to the city were singled out and killed. The few survivors now move with a lot of protection to ward off any attack.
Many police officers have been gunned down in targeted killings, but not a single accused has been arrested thus far. Given the history of sacrifice, it is easy to understand the demoralization within Sindh Police ranks, sources said.
Several other FIRs were registered in the killings of police officials and sepoys against nominated individuals from different parties, but most of the accused went scot-free and nominations were made in only a handful of cases, sources said. The same is true for the cases of killings of political activists.
If the authorities concerned are serious in controlling the ongoing insecurity in the city, they must sanction powers of arresting the culprits without any favouritism, and also take into confidence those officers who have taken part in nabbing the criminals involved in target killings in prior operations. If police officials are guaranteed that in future, they will not be victimized, they will produce the goods, sources concluded.
Source: The News International
PAKISTAN - 27 JULY 2010
Over 100 political activists have been gunned down in Karachi since the turn of the year.
The present spate of targeted killings is not the first of its kind; this phenomenon was first witnessed in the 1990s and re-emerged at various points in time, with most murders borne out of ethnic politics or political infighting.
Targeted killings are a vicious cycle. Once someone is targeted, a wave of killings is triggered as criminal elements exploit the murder as an opportunity to settle their own scores, a senior police officer, requesting anonymity, told The News.
Karachi has a history of ethnic conflicts, sectarian violence, as well as intra and inter-party tensions. One has to take into account indigenous social, political and economic factors to understand and pre-empt ethnic violence in the city, sources said.
The main reasons behind ethnic violence include aspirations of maintaining political hegemony, land-grabbing to provide shelter to respective ethnic communities, economic benefits accrued from limited resources, strengthening strongholds in particular areas, and the misuse of ethnic associations, the officer explained.
Sources told The News that criminal elements such as the land grabbers, drug mafias, gangsters, and illegal arms suppliers are operating in the city, but their activities continue unabated. However, when these elements run into each other over some contentious issue, an armed clash ensues becoming the cause of target killings.
Extortion and bribe is another important factor to consider in target killings, sources claimed. Moreover, warring religious factions also resort to target killing to settle their scores, sources added.
In the fresh wave of targeted killings, activists of Haqiqi, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Awami National Party (ANP), and even the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have mostly been gunned down. As far as sectarian killings are concerned, activists of the defunct Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) were mostly targeted in the recent spate of violence.
Most of these men were recently released on bail, and their adversaries took advantage of their free movement to gun them down.
In both clashes, innocent people lose their lives. In the first kind, rickshaw drivers, dumper drivers, cobblers etc are killed, while in the second, doctors from various sects are targeted, sources said.
When asked about the apparent impotency of the law enforcement agencies in curbing targeted killings, sources places the blame squarely on political forces, claiming that despite apprehending criminals, they receive orders to release those men.
It is not as if the police did not catch any criminals involved in target killings. But often enough, when a mobile is heading towards the police station after an encounter or during an investigation, they immediately receive directions to release the suspect held by them, sources said. In such a scenario, how can anyone blame the police?
Despite having verified information regarding criminals involved in target killings, the police are not given any clear directions from their superiors to arrest these perpetrators of violence a situation exacerbated by the fact that the police superiors are restrained, sources alleged.
More than 200 officers and sepoys who took part in the late 1990s have been martyred during the past five to six years, sources said. The aftermath of the operation was terrifying, as the cops who valiantly took part in returning peace to the city were singled out and killed. The few survivors now move with a lot of protection to ward off any attack.
Many police officers have been gunned down in targeted killings, but not a single accused has been arrested thus far. Given the history of sacrifice, it is easy to understand the demoralization within Sindh Police ranks, sources said.
Several other FIRs were registered in the killings of police officials and sepoys against nominated individuals from different parties, but most of the accused went scot-free and nominations were made in only a handful of cases, sources said. The same is true for the cases of killings of political activists.
If the authorities concerned are serious in controlling the ongoing insecurity in the city, they must sanction powers of arresting the culprits without any favouritism, and also take into confidence those officers who have taken part in nabbing the criminals involved in target killings in prior operations. If police officials are guaranteed that in future, they will not be victimized, they will produce the goods, sources concluded.
Source: The News International
