October 29, 2008	Wednesday	Shawwal 29, 1429

KARACHI, Oct 28: The killing of a young political worker in the small hours of Tuesday in Orangi Town took the total number of such targeted killings to more than a dozen in October alone, with ideological differences between parties and their scramble for dominance in certain areas keeping the Karachiites in constant fear of renewed political violence.

The data compiled by the police authorities and officials at the Sindh home department suggests that some 13 workers, mainly of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Sunni Tehrik, have been shot dead in different parts of the city during October.

The affected parties claim more deaths of their workers than counted by the law enforcers.

In this situation, observers suggest immediate action by the government to defuse the brewing tension in parts of the city “before it is too late”.

“Of the 13 political workers killed in October so far, four belonged to the Sunni Tehrik and four to the MQM,” said a police official citing the figures obtained from the city’s police stations. “Two activists of the Pakistan People’s Party and a worker each of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) and the Awami National Part are also among those shot dead from Oct 1 to 28.”

He said the police also recorded killing of a former worker of the MQM expelled from the party on disciplinary grounds. However, the official said, the data did not include individuals killed due to other “reasons” in the city.

This month’s killings came as a grim reminder of March, when about 22 activists of three parties – MQM, Sunni Tehrik and MQM-H – were targeted and killed in the very next month of the Feb 18 general election.

Despite repeated claims of reconciliation from the Pakistan People’s Party in the province and the centre, political harmony in Karachi eludes the President Zardari-led government, as rival groups blame one another for the recent spate of violence.

“We have tried to engage Sunni Tehrik leadership in dialogue but no serious effort has been witnessed from them,” said Faisal Sabzwari, a Sindh minister and MQM’s deputy parliamentary member in the Sindh Assembly. “Unfortunately, there are several reasons that are needed to be examined while pondering over the causes of the violence. And being a major party of the city, the MQM has responded with responsibility, and that’s why the majority of the areas in the city remained peaceful during violence in certain pockets.”

He said the MQM’s leadership had put facts before the authorities concerned, who admitted that there were criminal elements in political parties who were bent upon destroying the city’s peace.

“The city’s peace is under threat from two types of forces. One are political groups backing certain mafias and the others are those who are apparently migrants from different parts of the country, but actually defying the law to pursue a certain agenda.”

Mr Sabzwari’s concerns were echoed in observations made by independent political analysts but his rivals believe that the MQM’s offer to engage opponents in dialogue is no more than eyewash to satisfy the PPP-led government and divert the attention from the demand for investigations against the coalition partner in the provincial administration.

“The MQM sparked the violence by moving against the Sunni Tehrik with a plan to damage our improving relations with the PPP government,” said Sunni Tehrik chief Sarwat Ejaz Qadri. “We know the reasons behind the recent series of killings and have apprised the authorities concerned about it, though in vain.”

He admitted that there had been a talks offer by the MQM leadership but said the Sunni Tehrik would only come to the negotiating table when a senior political person from a third political party was made an observer of such a dialogue process.

“We have requested that Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah be made an arbiter in the matter, but unfortunately, we have received no response from any side. These talks offers are mere lip service,” he said.