Pakistani minister announces increased security measures in Karachi amid escalating violence

Pakistani minister announces increased security measures in Karachi amid escalating violence

2011-08-03 22:15:17 GMT+7 (ICT)

KARACHI, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Wednesday announced increased security measures in the port city of Karachi as nine more people were killed on the first day of Ramazan.

With the latest killings, the death toll as a result of violence in Karachi during the past two days has now reached 36. Hundreds of additional paramilitary and police forces have now been deployed in the area to boost security measures.

Malik arrived in Karachi on Wednesday and promised that security would be restored within two days, according to the Pakistan Tribune, adding that the government would not disappoint the citizens as it had decided to take firm action against the perpetrators.

"The government will no longer tolerate any violence in Karachi," Malki was cited as saying by the Pakistan Tribune. "I promise to restore peace and control the worsening law and order in Karachi within two days."

Along with Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, both leaders agreed to take indiscriminate strict action against those involved in target killings.

Meanwhile, government officials announced a Rs 10 million ($115,500) reward for information leading to the arrest of people behind Karachi's target killings, the Express Tribune reported.

Last month alone, more than 200 people were killed in Karachi. According to the independently-run Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, 490 people have been killed in the year's first semester, compared to 748 in all of 2010.

The violence and killings have been largely blamed on rival political parties MQM and Awami National Party (ANP) which represent different ethnic groups, prompting government officials to issue a 'shoot-at-sight' order to security forces.

On June 27, MQM parted ways with the PPP after more than three years due to a dispute over the past Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections in Karachi. MQM's split triggered fears of violence and, last week, an opposition coalition against the ruling PPP was formed by rival parties MQM and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

MQM said that the PPP government's "dictatorial and undemocratic" approach prompted its separation from the coalition, and the two former rival parties - PML-N and MQM - set aside their differences and decided to work together "in the best interest of the country," as said by MQM's Haider Abbas Rizvi.

MQM and PPP, led by President Asif Ali Zardari, had previously formed a coalition government in 2008. Earlier in the year, MQM, which has 25 seats in the 342-member Parliament, left the coalition, only to rejoin a few weeks later.

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