Karachi City Archives - Lokmarg

Malala Visits Pakistan On 10th Anniv Of Taliban Shooting

By LokMarg 11th October 2022

Days after the 10th anniversary of the Taliban shooting in Malala Yousafzai’s head, the Nobel Prize laureate arrived in her home country Pakistan on Tuesday, according to local media.

The Express Tribune reported that Malala and her parents reached Karachi through Qatar Airways’ flight 604 and were taken to her residence under tight security.
This is Yousafzai’s second visit to Pakistan since she survived a Taliban attack in 2012 in Afghanistan’s Swat.

Yousafzai, who has been actively working for girls’ education, is in Pakistan amid devastating floods that have left 1,700 killed and displaced nearly eight million people, according to the latest estimates.

Citing Malala Fund’s statement, Dawn reported that her visit aims “to help keep international attention focused on the impact of floods in Pakistan and reinforce the need for critical humanitarian aid.”

Earlier, the Malala Fund issued an emergency relief grant to the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to support flood relief efforts and “protect the wellbeing of girls and young women in Pakistan”.

Yousafzai, an advocate for girls’ education, survived a Pakistani Taliban assassination attempt when she was just 15 years old when they shot her in the head.

Since then the Oxford graduate has become a global figure promoting education for girls.

On October 9, 2012, Malala was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen for actively supporting girls’ right to education in Mingora, Swat Valley in northern Pakistan following which she left the country and shifted to Birmingham, UK.

Malala also underlined the importance of girls’ education, calling it a ‘social movement’ and vowed that she would continue to advocate it in her home country.

At the age of 17, Malala was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her contributions to and struggle for promoting education for children. She shared the prize with Kailash Satyarthi, a children’s rights activist. (ANI)

Chinese National Shot Dead In Pakistan’s Karachi

By LokMarg 28th September 2022

A Chinese national was killed while two others were injured in Pakistan’s Karachi on Wednesday, local media reported, citing authorities.

Quoting a police official, Dawn newspaper reported that an unidentified man opened fire inside a dental clinic in Karachi’s Saddar area.
SSP South Asad Raza said that one person was killed and two people were injured who were shifted to a hospital for treatment. He confirmed that the three were Chinese people.

Taking to twitter, Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah condemned the attack. (ANI)

Karachi: The Crime Capital of Pakistan, Hotbed of Lawlessness

By LokMarg 18th September 2022

Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan and the premier industrial and financial centre is a hotbed of lawlessness.

For over three decades, Karachi has been an epicentre of target killings for reasons ranging from ethno-political to sectarian disputes and from land mafia rivalries to personal vendetta and political outrage, reported Asian Lite International.

During the last couple of years, Karachi has seen frequent outbreaks of violence which have claimed hundreds of lives of innocent people. Over 56,500 cases of street crime have been reported in Karachi, the financial hub of Pakistan, during the current year.

Over 19,000 mobile phones were snatched from citizens, while 104 cars were forcefully taken and 1,383 bikes were stolen. Around 35,000 citizens were deprived of their motorbikes during various incidents in the city, reported Asian Lite International.

Moreover, due to such lawlessness, at least 56 people have lost their lives while resisting street criminals and 269 were injured as a result. Around 303 cases of house robberies have been reported in Karachi.

Interestingly, according to Sindh Police’s Crime Statistics of 2022, there have been 54 cases of murder; 98 cases of rioting; 59 cases of assault on police; 221 cases of kidnapping/abduction; 173 cases of burglary in Karachi.

The recent history of violence in Karachi underlines one point clearly: the city is quickly falling victim to the temptations of ‘power and influence’ on the part of political players, reported Asian Lite International.

Besides, the ethnic factor is deeply entrenched in the ongoing criminal and political violence in the city. Pashtuns, who are estimated to constitute 20-25 per cent of Karachi’s population have been politically marginalized in the city, but now they are asserting themselves and accordingly rearrangements in the political spectrum are causing violent episodes.

Furthermore, the flocking of suspected terrorists from tribal areas due to the ongoing military operations in the tribal regions further complicates the situation, reported Asian Lite International.

The political rioting and killings are to be blamed on violence, largely powered by antagonism between the local chapters of three political parties – the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the mostly Pashtun Awami National Party (ANP) and the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM).

Organised crime and gang wars have grown in Karachi over the past 35 years and now assume a major economic and political role in the city. Resultantly, narco crime is also a commonplace activity in the city.

The impact of the Afghan drug trade was multi-faceted. As Karachi became a transit point in the international drug trade, local crime groups became connected to the international drug trade.

Sectarian violence is also ruining the city from within, divided into Shia-Sunni zones. The varied mix of the population has caused not only rampant violence but also fierce sectarian rioting and disruptions. Shia-dominated areas of Rizvia Society, Malir, Numaish, Ancholi and Jafar-e-Tayyar Society are the areas from where law enforcers expect a vehement response if and when a Shia is killed anywhere in the city. Sunni sectarian groups have strongholds in areas such as Patel Para, Banaras, Nagan Chowrangi, Tawheed Chowk and Quaidabad, reported Asian Lite International. (ANI)