IN Karachi, a string of deadly attacks on religious minorities and law-enforcement agencies were blamed on Taliban militants during the year. What was just a bugbear a few years ago – and which was almost always followed by a wave of ethnic killings of Pakhtuns in habiting the metropolis – came to haunt the city that saw Bohris and Ahmedis fall prey to militant attacks which was sort of unprecedented.

What was not unprecedented though was the element of Shia killings that continued unabated; some of them being blamed on a proscribed sectarian organisation. That Muharram passed off without any major incident was perhaps because the cellphone service remained suspended and pillion-riding was outlawed across the city during the 10-day Ashura.

Ill-trained and lacking motivation, the law-enforcement agencies remained unable to provide security to an increasingly terrified citizenry. Indeed, they themselves became targets of militants. Of the over 110 policemen gunned down in Karachi in the year gone by, a quarter of the victims were said to have been targeted by militants operating in their recently acquired strongholds in the city’s western parts.

The paramilitary Rangers were not spared either. A Rangers base in North Nazimabad was targeted by a suicide bomber in November. Though the toll was not as high as it could have been, although the suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the base and caused a massive explosion that was heard far and wide, the attack proved once again that the militants could strike well-guarded paramilitary bases at will. Curiously enough, the Rangers like to maintain their premises in residential and commercial areas of the city which continued to make them imperil the very lives the force is here to protect.

Two Rangers personnel manning a checkpost on the intersection of Abul Hasan Isphahani Road and the Super Highway were killed by militants shortly after a raid on suspected terrorists in Sohrab Goth. A Rangers spokesman said afterwards the attack was in retaliation for the action initiated against “criminals and anti-social elements in the city”, though he did not elaborate why a checkpost in such close proximity to what is viewed as a hotbed of militancy was so shoddily guarded.

Speaking of hotbeds of militancy, 2012 also saw certain areas of Karachi being slowly taken over by militants who could establish their writ by enforcing their favoured brand of Shariah. Localities around the hills of Manghopir are said to have become sanctuaries for extremists fleeing the army operation and American drone strikes up north. And yet the government has made no effort to wrest from them the control of the area where they have banned what they regard as un-Islamic practices, such as the annual Sheedi Mela.

While the establishment of ‘no-go’ areas and launch of terrorist attacks are expensive ventures, militants never seem to be strapped for cash. Law-enforcement agencies believe that the militants are behind quite a few bank robberies in Karachi every year. They also have no qualms about being part of the lucrative extortion racket in the city. In fact, Karachi seems to be the ideal place for them to generate the funds required for waging their unholy war here as well as in the tribal areas.

The writer is Dawn’s City Editor for Karachi