Editorial

Spiralling violence

The pace at which violence continues to increase, in so many different forms, is deeply disturbing.

Editorial February 06, 2013

The report shows that 77 per cent of the victims were civilians, and of course, aside from those who died, many others were injured. PHOTO: FILE

Bad news comes our way too often. We all know that violence has grown rapidly in the country, affecting the lives of thousands. But it is only when actual figures are placed before us that we realise just how bad things are — and how quickly they seem to be worsening.

According to a weekly monitoring report compiled by the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) and covering the period between January 26 to February 1 this year, at least 73 people were killed across the country in 43 incidents of violence. For a single week, this is a huge number. The report shows that 77 per cent of the victims were civilians, and of course, aside from those who died, many others were injured. For the week covered in the latest Fafen report, target killings claimed the most lives, with 25 people gunned down in Karachi alone. Terrorist activities killed 16 people and injured 18 others. Thirty-eight people were killed in Sindh and 21 in Balochistan as a result of targeted killings, terrorism and tribal conflicts.

In addition, a counter-terrorism operation in the tribal belt killed 13 militants. Sectarian, ethnic and militant forces lay behind the terrorist killings. Attacks on schools were also reported, from the tribal areas and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

We also know violence has not fallen since that week. The pace at which it continues to increase, in so many different forms, is deeply disturbing. We have already lost too many lives to bullets and bombs. Those completely uninvolved in conflict are most often the victims. It is essential that we find a way to stop this bloodshed.

This senseless violence has continued far too long. Its acceleration across the country is something we need to think very deeply about, given the deep scars it has already left on society and the fresh wounds it continues to inflict. Only when we find a way to stop this mayhem will the injuries heal, the trauma begin to fade and some sense of normalcy return to the lives of people who today, live in a state of constant fear, with possible death lurking everywhere.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2013.