Violence in Karachi basically stems out of the desire of the major political parties to control the city.
KARACHI: This is with reference to Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy’s article “Why Karachi burns again and again” (April 9). I would like to point out that in Karachi every neighbourhood is treated as part of the territory of the militant wings of the various political parties that are represented in parliament. A person belonging to one ethnic group or party cannot enter the area controlled by another ethnic group or party.
Streets, markets and industrial areas are carefully divided along party lines and each party treats its area as their fiefdom. The amount of bhatta that is collected by each political party is dependent upon how much area comes under its control. To sum up, the violence in Karachi basically stems out of the desire of the major political parties to control the city and the money its inhabitants have.
Shahzad Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, April 11th, 2012.
