Sindh Govt may launch "selective operation" in Karachi to curb target killings

Karachi, Jan 18(ANI): In the wake of a fresh wave of target killings in Karachi, the Sindh government has decided to launch a selective operation in some 120 localities to maintain peace in the city before the local elections.

According to sources, this selective operation is aimed at curbing the unabated target killing incidents and armed clashes between land mafias.

The Sindh government has also taken its coalition parties on board in this regard, and is trying to address the reservations showed by some partners against the operation, they added.

"The delay in the operation is caused by the reservations showed by coalition partners, who opposed the action against a certain community or political group. However, efforts to address such concerns are being made," the Daily Times quoted the sources, as saying.

The government has planned to engage Rangers, Special Forces, police, lady personnel and commandos for the door-to-door search operations in a bid to root out the culprits in the most affected areas, the sources said.

The law enforcement agencies have made a list of Karachi's most affected areas and selected 120 localities for the launch of the first phase of the operation, said the sources, adding that they have also gathered facts about the affected areas, where different parties enjoyed their political influence.

Earlier, a "semi-curfew" was imposed in parts of the city on Sunday after at least 30 people were killed in a fresh wave of political violence in the city, including two MQM workers, while an ANP activist, who sustained bullet wounds in Al-Falah area on Saturday, also succumbed to his injuries.

On Monday, a Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H) activist fell prey to the ongoing wave of target killing when unidentified motorcyclists opened fire at him.

Meanwhile, dozens of suspects linked to the killings have been rounded up, with extra police and paramilitary rangers deployed in Karachi's trouble-prone western neighbourhoods.

However, neither political dialogue nor security agencies' efforts have been able to check the growing menace of target killings in the city, where the death toll continues to rise. (ANI)