KARACHI, June 15: The core committees of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and its coalition partners — the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP) — on Wednesday condemned targeted killings in the city and resolved to coordinate their efforts to weed out “Taliban/terrorists and other banned organisations and criminals”.

The committees held a meeting at the Governor’s House to discuss the targeted killings that have claimed many lives over the past three days. None of the party leaders made any statement to the media after the meeting, which was a follow-up of Tuesday’s talks between MQM and ANP delegations at the same venue.

The reference to Taliban and banned organisations in the joint statement issued late on Wednesday night was significant as it hinted that such elements might have some role in the ongoing wave of targeted killings and the prevailing law and order situation in the city.

The allied parties resolved to establish peace at all costs and emphasised that extra efforts were needed to ensure a conducive political environment. They also assured the law-enforcement agencies of their cooperation in weeding out criminal elements.They declared that “these criminals enjoyed no political support and the LEAs should apprehend them without any discrimination”.

Condemning the ongoing blood-letting, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad and Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, who jointly chaired the meeting, directed the LEAs to arrest and bring the criminals to justice.

The core committees also stressed the need for removing wall-chalking and party flags from all government buildings in order to defuse tension bring the law and order under control.