A spark of violence is all it takes to engulf the Karachi into insurmountable piles of bullet riddled and tortured bodies.—File Photo

Karachi, one of the largest cities of the world, has many faces. It can be a home to countless refugees, a shopper’s delight, paradise for tourists or, referring to the current violent attacks, gallows for innocent lives.

It is not unwise to say that Karachi, being a home to millions of multiethnic people, is a ticking time bomb which is ready to explode on the pettiest of issues.

A spark of violence is all it takes to engulf the entire city into insurmountable piles of bullet riddled and tortured bodies.

This time line provides factual insights over the recent spate of violence that continues to resurface time after time.

January 9, 2012: The interior ministry endorsed a proposal seeking issuance of licences for prohibited and non prohibited bore arms on the recommendations of the members of parliament and provincial assemblies.

Under the proposal, 10 licences for prohibited bore arms and 20 for non-prohibited bore arms could be issued every month on the recommendations of each member of the Senate and National Assembly.

Similarly, five prohibited and 10 non-prohibited bore arms licences could be issued on the recommendations of each member of provincial assemblies.

The proposal was motioned by Rehman Malik which signified that 7,700 new licences could be issued for prohibited bore arms and over 15,800 for non-prohibited bore arms on the recommendations of around 1,100 lawmakers.

March 16, 2012: Members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and traders of Karachi protested against incidents of extortion, announcing the observance of a “Black Day” protest on March 17.

The MQM also staged a walk out from the Sindh Assembly.

“Recruitments in police are being made on the recommendation of extortionists. The Sindh government has failed miserably. Only President Zardari can solve Karachi’s problems,” said Haider Abbas.

Taking notice of reports about extortion menacing the business community in Karachi, President Asif Ali Zardari asked Interior Minister Rehman Malik to take measures against the scourge in coordination with the Sindh government.

March 17, 2012: Life came to halt when for the very first time, the Trader Federation supported by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), called for a strike against extortion mafia prevalent in Karachi.

Though the strike remained comparatively peaceful with no major incident reported, most Karachiites stayed indoors for fear of violence often witnessed in the city after strike calls.

The strike was observed ‘coincidentally’ on the same day when President Asif Ali Zardari was about to address the joint session at the National Assembly for the fifth time.

The MQM shouted the National Assembly to a standstill and threatened to disrupt the president’s address, apparently risking its place in the coalition government.

March 19, 2012:  Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that the government was working on a bill to enact the Anti-Extortion Act for curbing the menace of extortion in the country.

Malik said that a crack down against the extortionists will be initiated in different areas of the city.

March 22, 2012: Firing near the venue of a Mushaira, organised by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, in Clifton where an Awami National Party activist was killed by the police caused the two allies in the Pakistan People’s Party-led coalition to exchange accusations.

While the MQM accused ANP of attempting to carry out a gun attack on the event, the latter demanded a judicial inquiry into the ‘targeted killing of its worker’.

March 24, 2012: Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced a quick and easy process for the issuance of arms licences to traders amid growing extortion threats.

“I assure you a quick and easy arms licence process,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik told a group of traders.

The announcement lifted the hopes of traders a little. They believed that rather than arming the traders, the government and the law-enforcement agencies have a role to play to cap the incidents for once and all.

“There are already a number of people who have arms licences but street crimes continue to rise, people are murdered and extortion complaints are increasing with each passing day,” said Ateeq Meer of the All Karachi Tajir Ittehad.

March 2012: About half-a-dozen members of the Sindh Assembly received threatening letters advising them to quit Karachi, calling it a ‘Mohajir Suba (province)’, along with their family members and “taste the experience of migration”.

“If you stayed on in Mohajir Suba despite receiving this advice, you will face the consequences. You and your family members are under our watchful eyes wherever you live within the limits of Mohajir Suba. You have very little time to pack up; so quit now, lest you should not be able to do so at all,” warned the identical messages.

March 26, 2012: Sindh’s Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah ordered an investigation into the threatening letters and cell phone text messages sent to some lawmakers belonging to the Pakistan People’s Party by ‘Mohajir Suba (province)’.

March 27, 2012:  Some armed men entered the house of Mansoor Mukhtar, a member of the party’s PIB sector committee in PIB colony and shot him to death.

The early morning attack left the victim’s sister-in-law Uzma Maqsood, injured.

The statement issued by MQM alleged that elements of the Lyari Gang-war were responsible for the incident.

Incidents of arson attacks and firing ruled Karachi throughout the course of the day and claimed countless lives.

March 28, 2012: An activist of the Awami National Party (ANP) was shot dead with Karachi flaring up violence in the city once again.

ANP activist Zain-ul-Abideen was killed in a targeted attack on his vehicle near the Matric Board Office in the Nazimabad area of the city. A companion of the deceased activist sustained injuries as a result of the attack.

The killing was followed by reports of firing, forced shutdown of business and vehicle-torching incidents in various parts of the city.

The total death toll from violence in the city reached six, where as 13 vehicles were torched.

Moreover, MQM chief Altaf Hussain urged the president, prime minister and army chief to stop the so-called nationalist elements of Sindh from using “threatening language” against Mohajirs.

Otherwise, he warned, “people may take matters into their own hands”.

March 30, 2012: Sporadic firing killed seven people including an activist from ANP and a police officer.

Unidentified motorcycle riders, near Baitul Mamur Mosque in Peerabad neigbourhood, sprayed bullets and fled away from the scene. Hidayatullah Mehsood, a member of ANP Sindh Council was killed as a result of the firing.

During the firing incidents in different areas of Karachi 13 people, including policemen were killed on late Friday night.

March 31, 2012: Karachi came to a standstill once again when MQM Rabita Committee announced a day of mourning on Saturday and requested traders, industrialists, businessmen and shopkeepers to shut their businesses.

All means of public transportation and educational institutes remained closed on the day of mourning.

April 4, 2012: A worker of the ANP was shot dead by unidentified assailants at Taisar Town near Lyari Expressway in the limits of Surjani Town police station.

According to an official at the station, ANP worker Umer Malook, a resident of the same area, was fatally injured when unidentified armed culprits opened fire on him at Surjani Town.

He was rushed to a nearby private hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

April 5, 2012: At least three people were injured as a bomb exploded in the Karachi’s Malir Halt area.

Security officials refused to give further details about the nature of the blast prior to further investigation.

April 6, 2012: Three senior workers of the Pakistan People’s Party and a young member of the party’s student wing were shot dead in two gun attacks in Karachi.

The targeted killings angered party workers who brought the body of one of the victims from hospital in an attempt to stage a sit-in in front of the Chief Minister’s House but were stopped and teargassed by law-enforcers at the Shaheen Complex traffic intersection.

April 7, 2012: Three people were killed in Karachi, raising the death toll from firing incidents to nine people within 24 hours.

April 9, 2012: The series of target killings and bloodshed continued in Karachi as six people including a policeman were killed in the port city.

April 14, 2012: Tension gripped the metropolis once again when three people were killed in firing and a hand grenade attack in Gulbahar area.

Unidentified armed men interrupted the traffic on roads and forced all the shops to close down.

Moreover, a tortured body was also found in a gunny bag in Soldier bazaar.

April 16, 2012: Karachi once again witnessed deteriorating law and order situation as the series of targeted killings continued in which five people lost their lives, whereas many others were injured after midnight.

volunteers-help-people-injured-in-a-suicide-attack-at-Karachi
April 17, 2012: Three people were killed and two others were injured when armed men opened indiscriminate fire in Karachi’s Pahar Ganj.

Moreover, bodies were also found in the areas of New Karachi, Ranchor line, F B Area, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, North Nazimabad Block M and in the Site industrial area.

April 18, 2012: : Nearly a dozen people, including two activists of the Awami National Party, were killed in the city of Karachi, as sporadic gun attacks on roadside restaurants and shops continued on a third consecutive day.

April 20, 2012: At least 14 people were killed in firing incidents in different parts of the city.

April 22, 2012: Law enforcement agencies remained mere spectator as seven more people became victim of relentless firing incidents in Karachi.

KKF-ambulances
Amidst the bloodshed, Sindh home ministry imposed a ban on letting houses to the foreigners by issuing a notification for registering property dealers.

According to the notification, land-lords must verify from National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) before letting out their properties.

April 23, 2012: President Asif Ali Zardari ordered indiscriminate targeted action against criminals and said that the menace of lawlessness and target killings in Karachi could be eradicated only if the PPP, MQM and ANP joined hands.

“If the three political parties — the PPP, MQM and ANP — join hands in Karachi, there is no reason why we cannot confront and defeat the menace of lawlessness and targeted killings in the metropolis,” he said during a meeting with representatives of the coalition parties at Bilawal House.

May 5, 2012: A Pakistan People’s Party activist’s son and grandson were shot dead by assailants riding a motorbike in the Kati Pahari area.

The attack, described by the PPP as ‘targeted killing’ was followed by arson attacks that created tension and paralysed the routine life in the whole area, police and party sources said.

Moreover, Assistant sub inspector (ASI) police Aslam was injured after an unidentified man shot him in the head in Gulshan-e-Iqbal town’s Rajput colony;  Later he succumbed to his injuries during medical treatment at a private hospital.

In another incident at Sohrab Goth’s Al-Asif Square, a man was shot dead.

A police van was attacked near Hassan square area, injuring Inspector Azhar Ali and one other policeman.

May 7, 2012: A marble trader shot dead in his Bara Board shop within the remit of the Pak Colony police station was among the three persons killed in the city.

Forty-six-year-old Zafar Iqbal was sitting at his shop where two armed men riding a motorcycle came, opened fire on him and escaped.

The shopkeeper and a 30-year-old passer-by, Abdul Rehman, were wounded in the shooting.

The victims were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where according to the police, Zafar Iqbal died.

May 13, 2012: Two people were killed in the city when unknown gunmen opened fire on a car in the Dhoraji area.

The firing injured four passengers in a car, two of whom were identified as Maulana Aslam Sheikhupuri and Maulana Hassan Aziz.

Sheikhupuri and Aziz succumbed to their wounds shortly after the attack while the two injured security guards were admitted to Jinnah Hospital.

May 15, 2012: Karachi once again witnessed deteriorating law and order situation  as the series of targeted killings continued and seven people lost their lives whereas many others were injured.

Ex-counselor Anwar Alam alias ‘babu bhai’ associated with Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was shot dead in Usman play ground in the area of  PECHS block 2. The business in the area was shut down after the incident.

May 16, 2012: One person was killed and two others injured in incidents of firing in Karachi.

Unknown assailants shot and killed one person who was affiliated with a political party in Orangi Town’s Bangla bazaar area.

The incident led to tensions in the neighbourhood where business activities were subsequently suspended.

May 17, 2012: The deteriorated law and order situation continued to prevail in the city as 11 more people, including two policemen, lost their lives to targeted killings.

May 18, 2012: The incidents of targeted killings continued in the city, as at least 12 people were killed and four other dead bodies were found from different areas of the city.

After incidents of violence police and rangers beefed up patrolling and started snap checking in different parts of Karachi.

May 19, 2012: A young builder was gunned down outside his home off Shaheed-i-Millat Road.

According to the police, a man on a motorbike spotted Salman Azam when he was sitting in his car outside the Arsal Apartment in New Karachi Housing Scheme of PECHS block 2. The assailant fired three shots at him and rode away.

May 21, 2012: At least six people were killed in incidents of violence in Karachi.

May 22, 2012: At least 11 people were killed and more than 30 people wounded as violence erupted in Karachi after unidentified armed assailants opened fire at a political rally.

The rally was organised by members and workers of Awami Tehrik Party, a small nationalist group, backed by the banned People’s Amn Committee and several other parties, in protest of the proposed Mohajir province and the recent operation in Lyari.

May 24, 2012: Seven people were killed in incidents of firing in Karachi.

Those killed on Thursday included two workers of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and a son of a party activist.

May 25, 2012: Three people were shot dead in incidents of violence in Karachi, taking the death toll to 10 in the past 24 hours.

May 26, 2012: A hand grenade attack injured eleven people in Karachi.

The attack took place near a hotel opposite the Karachi Central Jail.

May 28, 2012: Gun attacks in various areas of Karachi claimed the lives of nine people including an SP and a doctor.

Fourteen people, including a woman, were injured in the different incidents.

May 29, 2012: Nine people, including a political activist, were killed and at least eight others were injured amidst incidents of violence and firing in Karachi.

The renewed wave of violence and targeted killings continued in the metropolis as member of a political party, Imran Baig, was killed in Shah Faisal Colony. The incident sparked chaos and panic in the locality and normal business activity was suspended.

May 31, 2012: The violent incidents of targeted killings continued in Karachi as five more people, including a Rangers officer, were killed.

June 2, 2012: At least four people, including a woman, lost their lives in different acts of violence in Karachi.

Two workers of a political party were gunned down in the city’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar area.

The incident occurred in Block-15 of Gulistan-e-Jauhar when armed assailants opened fire on the victim’s car, severely injuring Aftab, Ghulam Shabbir and another man.

Both Aftab and Shabbir succumbed to their wounds while they were being transferred to the hospital.

June 3, 2012: Violence continued in Karachi, after the latest round of targeted killings. One person was killed in Khamosh colony and three other bodies were found in various parts of the metropolis.

The bodies of two young men were found in Orangi town. Police said that both the deceased had been shot to death. They were both residents of Orangi town.

Another body was found in a gunny bag, which had been dumped in a canal in Liaquatabad.

June 4, 2012: Four people were gunned down in the metropolis.

Unidentified armed assailants opened fire on two men in the city’s Mithadar area, leaving one dead and the other severely injured. Both men were reported to be workers for a political party.

June 5, 2012: Four people were killed in incidents of violence in Karachi.

A man’s body bearing torture marks was recovered from Mauripur Road. The man had been shot dead.

In another incident near the old vegetable market, a CID police official was shot dead. The official was shot four times and had died instantly.

June 6, 2012: Incidents of violence and target killings claimed seven more lives in Karachi where as the CID police arrested four suspected target killers allegedly involved in the targeted killings of 18 persons.

Unknown persons killed one person in Karachi’s Federal B area Block 14 and Garden areas respectively.

Tortured bodies were found in Malir near KDA Chowrangi and Mauripur Road respectively.

June 8, 2012: Target killings and other related violence has left 10 people dead in Karachi.

Two people related to a political party were killed in Saeedabad. Firing near Quaidabad and Federal B Area claimed the life of two other men.

Meanwhile firing in Zeenat Square, Sharifabad, left one man dead and another injured.

June 10, 2012: Unknown persons entered a house in Baldia Town’s Mawach Goth area in Karachi and opened indiscriminate gunfire, killing one person and injuring two others.

The incident took place as a result of personal enmity, according to police sources.

According to police, five people were killed and another wounded in an exchange of gunfire between two criminal groups  in the city’s Musharraf Colony area near Hawk’s Bay. SSP Police West Amir Farooq said that a man named Shahzad aka ‘Charlie’, who was also killed in the incident, was wanted by the police for over three years.

June 12, 2012: Eight more people lost their lives including the brother of a political activist in incidents of targeted attacks.

June 13, 2012: A shutter-down strike was observed in Karachi against the lawlessness in the city.

June 14, 20112: Despite the law enforcement measures by the government, targeted killings continued in Karachi and at least five people were killed in the metropolis.

A man was shot dead near Tibet centre at M A Jinnah road, one of the busiest roads of the city. The deceased, Sohail, was a shopkeeper.A man was also injured by the firing incident.

June 15, 2012: Four people were killed in latest incidents of violence in Karachi.

One person was shot dead in the city’s North Karachi area and another was killed in an incident of firing in the Garden area.

Moreover, Four ‘target killers’ were arrested in an operation carried out by police personnel in Karachi’s Garden and Kharadar areas.

June 16, 2012: A former office-bearer of the Awami National Party died after he reportedly jumped from the fourth floor of a building to escape arrest during a raid conducted by the Rangers in Rabia City, Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

Following the incident, tension gripped different areas, including Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Safoora Goth, Pehlawan Goth, University Road, Lasbela and Patel Para, where some armed men fired into the air compelling traders to pull down shutters.

June 17, 2012: Violent incidents of bloodshed continued in Karachi, as eight more people lost their lives and several received injuries.

The new wave of targeted killings escalated after the death of Awami National Party (ANP) leader Liaquat Bangash, whose body found in Rabia city near Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar area on Saturday.

June 18, 2012: At least six people were shot dead and six others injured in different incidents of firing in various areas of Karachi.

June 19, 2012: At least six people were killed in incidents of violence in Karachi.

June 23, 2012: Quaidabad police claimed to have arrested a target killer, allegedly involved in the killing of 19 people.

The Superintendent of Police (SP) Malir, in a press briefing said that accused Jehanzaib alias Fuji was arrested from Star Ground in Quaidabad area.

Moreover, two young men were shot dead while bodies of four other persons including a newborn baby were found in different areas of Karachi during the night and in the early hours of Sunday.

June 25, 2012: At least five people, including two policemen, lost their lives in violent incidents of Karachi.

Moreover, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain said that conspiracies are being hatched to fuel ethnic rivalries. He said that to crush these evil plots, inter-ethnic harmony was needed.

The MQM chief was addressing the “Paigham-e-Mohabbat” rally via telephone in Karachi which was organised for the Pashtun and Hazara community residing in the city.

July 3: At least six people were killed in incidents of violence in Karachi.

Moreover, the police claimed arresting a suspected target killer.

In the city’s Orangi Town area, two people, including a political worker, were shot dead.

July 5, 2012: At least two people lost their lives in firing incidents in Karachi.

A man was shot dead in the area of New Karachi whereas another received bullet wounds in the area of Gulbahar.

July 8, 2012: In an ongoing wave of violence, Deputy Director of Intelligence Bureau (IB) Qamar Raza and eleven others were killed in Karachi.

According to police, Qamar Raza, was ambushed by two unidentified assailants when he was returning from a walk to his apartment in Sharifabad.

July 9, 2012: Tension prevailed in different areas of the city  after an office bearer of a political party was killed.

Within a few hours, at least five people lost their lives in the Karachi.

July 10, 2012: Six more people were killed in different incidents in Pakistan’s financial capital of Karachi.

At least two people lost their lives to indiscriminate firing in the city’s Keamari area. The man and his son were shot dead by unidentified culprits. The bodies were sent to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

July 11, 2012: At least one person was killed and 15 others wounded as an explosion ripped through a bus stand near Karachi’s Moach Goth, Baldia Town area.

The target of the attack appeared to be a bus from the national space agency Suparco (Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission) which was taking workers home.

July 14, 2012: At least seven people were killed in incidents of violence across Karachi.

July 15, 2012: Fifteen people lost their lives in Karachi whereas police claimed to have arrested 37 suspects in separate actions during the course of 24 hours.

July 17, 2012: At least five people lost their lives in different areas of Karachi.

Police  arrested Inam mullah, a member of banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

A political worker was shot dead in the area of Quiadabad. The tension prevailed in the area after the incident.

July 18, 2012: One person was killed and eight others injured, including two Rangers personnel, as an explosive device detonated near a Rangers mobile van, at Peoples Chowrangi in Buffer Zone.

July 19, 2012: Five people were killed in incidents of violence and targeted killings  in Karachi, whereas security forces claimed arresting several suspects in various operations.

July 20, 2012: Police defused a bomb planted near Safoora Chowrangi on Karachi’s University Road.

Police said the bomb, containing 15 to 16 kilograms of explosive material, was planted near a school building.

Moreover, on the same day, Senior Adviser to the prime minister for Interior, Rehman Malik called on Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah at the Chief Minister House in Karachi.

They reviewed the current law and order situation in the Karachi and decided to take stern action against extortionists, target killers and “Parchi Mafia” sending letters to traders, businessmen and industrialists.

July 21, 2012:  At least four people were killed in incidents of violence in Karachi including a doctor associated with the polio

prevention campaign of World Health Organisation was gunned down in the city’s Al-Asif Square.

July 24, 2012: A loud explosion was heard in Karachi’s Clifton area near the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi.

The explosion shattered the windows of buildings in the vicinity and damaged two automobiles and three motorbikes parked near the site of explosion.

The bomb was fitted on a motorbike parked near the Chinese consulate area, SSP South Asif Shaikh said.

Moreover, at least five persons were wounded in a grenade attack in Orangi Town.

They said that unknown men on a motorcycle lobbed a hand-grenade on the main road in Fareed Colony within the remit of the Mominabad police station and escaped.

July 25, 2012:  At least three people were gunned down in acts of violence in the city and a policeman who was wounded in a gun attack earlier in the week died during treatment.

Moreover, a young man was shot dead by unknown suspects near Kala Pul rail tracks in Masoom Shah Colony.

July 27, 2012:  A man was injured and some vehicles were damaged in a grenade attack near a department store in Gulshan-i-Iqbal near NIPA.

Two people were killed in separate incidents of violence in Karachi, whereas police claimed killing two dacoits in an encounter and arresting several suspects during targeted operations on various drug dens.

Residents of Pak Colony staged a violent protest, set ablaze three vehicles, including a brand new four-by-four of a local PPP leader, and blocked the main road for vehicular traffic for hours.

Their protest was so violent that for a considerable period of time police and Rangers failed to reach the scene.

July 29, 2012: Various incidents of violence claimed eight lives in Karachi whereas nine people were injured.

August 2, 2012: Three people were killed and two others were injured in separate incidents of violence.

August 3, 2012: At least eight people were injured seriously in a bomb blast in the industrial town of Hub.

August 6, 2012: Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik co-chaired law and order meeting held at the CM House in Karachi.

The meeting was attended among others by Principal Secretary to CM Muhammad Siddique Memon, Secretary Home Sindh Rizwan Memon and IG Police Sindh Fayaz Ahmed Leghari.

August 7, 2012: At least three people, including a woman lost their lives in firing incidents in Karachi.

It was reported that within 24 hours, the east police arrested 27 suspects during their operation.

August 11, 2012: At least four people, including a political activist, were killed in incidents of violence in Karachi.

A man’s body bearing torture marks was recovered from near the Kakri Ground in the city’s Kharadar area.

August 12, 2012: Incidents of violence in Karachi claimed six lives during the day, whereas police arrested seven alleged extortionists.

August 13, 2012: Two bodies were found in gunny bags in different areas of Karachi.

One of the bodies was found in the city’s Lines Area on Monday. The other body was found in Karachi’s Garden area.

August 14, 2012: A possible terrorism bid was averted when a 20-kg remote-controlled bomb planted near a shopping centre in Karachi’s busy Hyderi market area was defused.

Panic and fear gripped the area upon the information of a bomb planted near a shopping centre in Karachi’s Hyderi area.

August 15, 2012: Seven people lost their lives and five others were injured in Karachi in various incidents of violence during twenty four hours whereas police claimed arresting two extortionists.

An activist of the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) party was killed by unknown gunmen near Lasbela Bridge.

August 16, 2012: At least four people, including two women, were killed in incidents of violence in Karachi.

A man injured in a firing incident near the Metro Cinema area of Orangi Town succumbed to the injuries.

In a separate incident, one person was killed in a firing incident at Karachi’s Numaish Chowrangi.

Moreover, Awami National Party (ANP) leader Bashir Jan late on Thursday survived an apparent targeted grenade attack on his vehicle in Frontier Colony. However, four others sustained injuries.

August 17, 2012: The spate of violence continued as three more people lost their lives.

An Islamic scholar, Maulana Saleem Abbas Naqshbandi, succumbed to wounds. He was injured ten days ago, when an unidentified assailant opened fire near the Chiragh Hotel in the area of Lyari.

Moreover, a bomb struck a bus taking Shia Muslims to a protest rally near Karachi’s Safari Park on University Road killing one man and wounding 11 others.

August 18, 2012:  Inspector General (IG) Sindh Police summoned details into incidents of violence that left at least 10 people dead overnight in Karachi.

Gunmen on motorcycles opened fire at a teahouse in North Karachi’s ‘Disco Morr’ area, injuring five people, who were taken to Abbasi Shaheed hospital but later succumbed to their injuries.

August 20, 2012: President Asif Ali Zardari met with leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP).

The meeting discussed the country’s overall political situation with special focus on the matter of law and order in Karachi.

During the same day, four people lost their lives in incidents of targeted attacks. Twelve people were reportedly injured.

Moreover, police sources disclosed the suspected involvement of one group in incidents of violence in Karachi’s Central district that had claimed 10 lives on the Friday.

The report said that a group comprising six armed persons on three motorcycles was involved in all the incidents.

August 22, 2012: Four people, including a woman, were reported killed in incidents of violence across Karachi.

One body was found near the city’s old airport. It was reported to be of a 20-year-old girl and bore torture marks.

August 24, 2012: Uncontrolled lawlessness and unrest claimed ten more lives in Karachi, whereas police claimed arresting several suspected target killers.

August 27, 2012: Different violent incidents in Karachi claimed at least five lives.

August 28, 2012: At least six people were wounded as unidentified assailants attacked the office of a political party in Karachi’s Kemari area.

August 29, 2012: Ten people, including two women, were killed in different incidents of violence in Karachi.

September 1, 2012:  Rangers arrested several criminals and drug dealers, including two Taliban, after launching a targeted operation in Karachi’s Landhi area.

The operation was targeted to crack down the group of drug dealers. During the operation, the Rangers faced armed resistance from the criminals.

September 2, 2012: At least seven people were gunned down by unidentified armed men in different areas of the city.

A member of the Kutchi Rabta Committee (KRC) was killed near Native Jetty Bridge.

September 4, 2012: At least three people, including a policeman, lost their lives in two different incidents in Karachi.

Unidentified gunmen killed two people, Zamin Khan and Zakir Hussain in Orangi town’s frontier colony.

September 5, 2012: Eight people, including two policemen were killed in separate incidents.  Six people were victims of firing while two dead bodies were found.

September 7, 2012: One person was killed and three more torture-ridden bodies were found in gunny bags.

A man was killed in Ittehad Town in the Baldia area when unknown assailants opened fire.

In a separate incident, two bodies bearing marks of torture were found under the Rexer Lane Bridge on the Lyari River in gunny bags and another body bearing torture marks was found near Sindhi Hotel in Liaquatabad.

  September 12, 2012: Three workers of the Pakistan People’s Party, including the PPP’s information secretary of district west, were shot dead in Nazimabad.

September 13, 2012: Seven people died in various incidents of violence. One man was killed in a grenade attack in New Karachi, one person died of gunshot wounds in Pir Colony, one person was shot dead in Gulshan-e-Iqbal and two others died due to firing in Khokhrapar and Ayub Goth.

September 17, 2012: At least four people were killed in incidents of violence. Two people were kidnapped before being killed near Rizvia Bagh. One person was shot dead near Baldia Town and one was shot dead in Pak Colony.

September 18, 2012: At least seven people were killed when two blasts hit Hyderi market in North Nazimabad.

September 19, 2012: Three people were killed in different incidents of firing.

September 21, 2012: Two police men among 17 were killed during rallies which were protesting against the anti-Islam film. Five cinema houses, three police mobiles, three banks and a number of shops were set on fire and looted by the protesters as well.

September 24, 2012: Six people died in different incidents of violence and shooting.

September 25, 2012: Ten people, including three from one family, were killed in incidents of target killing. Two workers of the MQM were gunned down in Surjani Town.

October 1, 2012: One person was shot dead and one woman was poisoned in separate incidents of violence.

October 2, 2012: Five bodies were found in different parts of the city as violence continued.

October 10, 2012: Six people, including three victims of kidnapping were gunned down in various incidents of violence.

October 12, 2012: Four people were killed in different incidents of violence. A High Court lawyer was injured on the way to Gurumandir from Nazimabad when unknown assailants opened fire on him.

Unknown gunmen opened fire upon a hotel in the area, injuring seven people. Two of the wounded were reported dead on arrival at the hospital.

One person was killed when unknown assailants opened fire on them near the New Karachi Power House.

In another incident, one person was shot dead on Kharadar Road in the Baghdadi area.

October 13, 2012:At least four people, including a police official were killed.

In Kharadar, one person was gunned down by unknown assailants. Another person was gunned down and two others injured in Landhi when unknown gunmen opened fire on them and two people were killed in a road accident in the city’s SITE area.

October 16, 2012: Four people were killed in different incidents.

Two bodies were found near Crown cinema on Mauripur Road in Karachi’s Lyari area.

A trussed up body of a man, bearing torture marks, was found in Lyari’s Bihar Colony area. The deceased was identified as 65-year-old Javed Iqbal who was a renowned former footballer.

In another incident, gunmen opened fire on a car in Karachi’s New Town area injuring one person.

October 17, 2012: Ten people were killed in different incidents as 30 suspects were arrested. One policeman was killed in North Nazimabad, one suspected robber was shot in a police encounter, the director for education of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation was shot dead, a PPP activist was shot dead in North Nazimabad, two people were gunned down while two bodies were found.

October 22, 2012: Three people were killed in separate incidents. One person was shot at in Surjani Town while another was shot in Kharadar and was later pronounced dead during treatment while a body was found in Nazimabad.

October 25, 2012: Two bodies were found while a man was shot by unknown persons in Orangi Town.

October 26, 2012: Six people, including a policeman were killed in incidents of violence whereas five people were arrested across Karachi.

November 2, 2012: Ten people lost their lives in various incidents of violence.

November 7, 2012: At least four people, including a policeman and a woman, were killed in different incidents of violence.

November 8, 2012: At least nine people, including a policeman and a woman, were killed.

November 9, 2012: At least five people lost their lives on Friday in different incidents of violence.

November 10, 2012: At least fifteen people died and several injured on Saturday as the menace of targeted killings continues to spread havoc.

November 11, 2012:  At least nine people were killed and several others injured in Karachi in a fresh spate of violence.

November 12, 2012: At least six people lost their lives and four were wounded in violent incidents.

November 14, 2012: Incidents of violence and targeted killings claimed at least six lives.

November 15, 2012: Four people were killed in different incidents of violence as police detained fourteen people from Baldia Town and recovered weapons.

November 20, 2012: Incidents of violence claimed two lives and injured three others on Tuesday, whereas security personnel conducted raids in different areas of the city arresting 25 suspects.

November 29, 2012: At least eight people were killed on Thursday in separate incidents of firing in Karachi.

December 1, 2012: At least four people were killed in incidents of violence on Saturday in parts of Karachi, while police arrested three suspects, including an alleged target killer.

December 2, 2012: Six people lost their lives in different incidents of violence in Karachi whereas enraged protestors set alight five cars on Rashid Minhas road.

December 5, 2012: At least two people, including a prayer leader at a local mosque, were killed Wednesday in separate incidents of violence in the the commercial hub of Karachi.

December 10, 2012:  Two officials of Rangers among seven people were killed in different incidents of violence in Karachi.

December 24, 2012: Four people, including three traders, were gunned down in ‘sectarian’ attacks in two different parts of the city.

December 25, 2012: Seven people were killed in different incidents of violence across Karachi whereas four people died and several others were injured in a road accident.

December 31, 2012: Eight people were killed in incidents of violence across Karachi; unknown gunmen shot dead four of the victims in the city’s Ayub Goth area.

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