Pakistan Friday ordered 1,000 extra troops to
deploy in Karachi with instructions to shoot-to-kill after another 80
people were killed in the deadliest six months of political violence
since 1995.
Gunfire
reverberated in western neighbourhoods and thousands of people were
stranded, short of food and too frightened to go out on a fourth
consecutive day of violence in what is Pakistan’s biggest city and
economic hub.
The
US ambassador to Pakistan voiced concern about escalating instability
in the city whose Arabian Sea port is used by the United States to ship
supplies to the 150,000 foreign troops fighting the Taliban in
Afghanistan.
The
unrest has been blamed on loyalists of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement
(MQM), the dominant local party that represents Pakistanis who migrated
from India, and the Awami National Party (ANP) of Pashtuns from the
northwest.
Although
the stock market was open, trading was sluggish as most of the city
shut down, with shops closed and bus drivers on strike. The MQM, the
dominant local party, has called for a day of mourning.
“At
least 80 people have been killed in the violence since Tuesday. The
number of injured is more than 100,” said Interior Minister Rehman
Malik, adding that security forces had arrested 89 suspects over the
killings.
Provincial
information minister Sharjeel Memon said the government had ordered
security forces to “shoot on sight” armed men involved in the attacks.
“We
are bringing 1,000 more paramilitary troops to control the situation in
Karachi,” Malik told reporters overnight, after Pakistan’s leading
human rights commission criticised government inaction over the
violence.
In
the worst incident, gunmen opened fire on two buses, killing 12 people,
including a six-year-old girl overnight, a security official said.
“We have started targeted actions in the troubled localities. We want to secure every street.”
Anwer
Kazmi, who works for Pakistan’s largest charity, the Edhi Foundation,
said it was difficult to deliver food and water because of incessant
gunfire.
“Seven of our ambulances have been fired on so far and one of our volunteers has been shot and injured,” he said.
Local
residents in troubled neighbourhoods spoke of their fear, saying they
were running out of supplies and could do little but cower at home.
“The
walls of my house are riddled with bullets. Many of our household items
have been destroyed. Most of time we duck inside the house to save
ourselves from frequent volleys of bullets,” said Akber Khan from
Orangi neighbourhood.
“We
are so afraid. We haven’t slept for nights. One day I was on my
balcony, when some bullets were fired at our house, Allah saved me. I
haven’t been on the balcony since,” said third-grade student Shaista
Ahmed, eight.
“Most
people in our neighbourhood are short of food and water. Our children
are hungry and thirsty,” fellow resident Mohammad Imran also told AFP,
as gunfire could be heard in the background down the telephone line.
Witnesses said many people have started fleeing troubled neighbourhoods to stay with relatives in safer areas.
The
worst affected areas are impoverished, thickly populated neighbourhoods
in the western part of the city, dotted with construction sites where
armed men of different ethnicities are exchanging gunfire.
The
latest bout of violence comes just days after the MQM walked out of the
federal government led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), a move
that some analysts said made it harder for the government to intervene.
“With
MQM out of the ruling set-up it is getting difficult for the government
to normalise the situation. The government is helpless,” said Tauseef
Ahmed Khan, a professor at the Urdu University.
The
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan says 490 people were killed in
targeted killings in the first six months of the year, compared to 748
in 2010.
“The
first half of the current year has been the bloodiest in the last 16
years for Karachi and second only to 1995 when over 900 killings had
been reported in its first half,” said its chairwoman Zohra Yusuf.
The
US ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter, issued a statement saying
that the embassy was “deeply concerned about the escalating violence”
and called on all parties to work towards a peaceful resolution. AFP
