Weapons Of Choice: Residents want peace but blame each other

KARACHI:

As far as Karachi goes as a city of paradoxes, try this one on for size: Its residents want peace but blame each other for their misfortunes.

“All ethnic groups believe that they are the persecuted ones,” explained Imran Shirvanee, who has worked on a report of 3,000 interviews for the National Organisation for Working Community (NOW Community) in collaboration with Oxfam Novib. The report was presented to the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors on Wednesday.

According to NOW’s chief executive Farhat Parveen, they compiled the report after interviewing people from different sects and minorities. The project was scheduled to continue till 2014. The report’s findings suggest that Karachi does not have one problem – but a whole Pandora’s box of issues – from the extortion mafia to the social disintegration of communities, target killings etc. Most people have a working relationship with the city. But the young people who could play a vital role to restore peace were divided along social lines.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd, 2012.