Determination: Slain political activist refused to leave his turf

“Until the MQM learns to share, there will always be chaos,” Baloch had said.

KARACHI:

Days before he was killed in a drive-by shooting in Karachi, the political activist said he would never give up control over his turf.

Zafar Baloch, 46, wielding enormous power in Karachi, was killed by a group of gunmen on motorcycles overnight in an attack that sent shock waves through the sprawling port city. In an interview on September 5, Baloch, spoke extensively about the psychology of gangland violence.

He would not leave his turf despite continuous raids by the police and attacks by gangsters, he said. “I once had 13 police raids in one day. I have bullet and grenade wounds in my leg,” he claimed. “Thieves run away. I’ll never run away from Lyari.”

In Lyari, a densely populated locality, criminal gangs operate freely, exerting control over businesses and residents. Police almost never enter the neighbourhood without permission from area residents.

At a football club, Baloch talked about how Karachi is a cake that attracts too many takers. “Right now we are sitting across the table watching the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) eat the whole cake,” he said. “If this goes on, we will either ruin the cake for everyone or get our slice.”

Baloch sees the MQM as his main rival even though nearly all mainstream political parties are accused of running armed groups that have carved up the city along ethnic lines into spheres of influence. Politicians, of course, deny such claims. “The problem is that the MQM thinks it has the biggest stake in Karachi,” Baloch explained. “Until the MQM learns to share, there will always be chaos.”

And yet he spoke passionately about Karachi, a city where had earned both fear and respect. “Karachi was born out of Lyari. It comes from right here. The people of Lyari gave birth to this city. How can we let it die?” he said. “Lyari is just a good town with a bad reputation. But its people will never let Karachi die.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20th, 2013.