Talibanization of Karachi, Causes, Challenges and The Role of Government

March 2013

Introduction of Karachi:

Ethnic and Political Composition and Conflicts

How The Talibanization Started in Karachi, Causes:

Taliban Linked Militant Groups or Organizations Working in Karachi

Major Attacks After 9/11 in Karachi

Funding Sources:

1.     Bank Robberies

2.     Kidnapping for Ransom

3.     Extortion

Challenges:

Threats to Political Parties, Civil Society, Media and Law Enforcement Agencies

The Role of Government (Action against Taliban)

Conclusion

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Introduction:

Karachi, the 7th largest city of the world is the main seaport and financial center of Pakistan and has an estimated population of 21 million people. Once locally known as the "City of Lights" and "The Bride of the Cities" for its liveliness, Karachi today presents an especially alarming picture in view of an almost unstoppable spree of killing on ethnic, sectarian and political grounds. On the other hand, hundreds of Taliban fleeing from FATA and Khaber Pakhtun khwa have taken refuge in the teeming commercial hub of Karachi where a growing nexus with banned militant organizations has become a headache for law enforcement agencies.

Ethnic Composition:

Looking into Karachi’s diverse demography, will help to understand the root cause of increasing violence. There are several ethnic groups in Karachi including, Sindhi’s, Muhajir’s (migrated from India,) Punjabi’s, Pashtun’s, Kashmiri’s and Baloch amongst others. Furthermore, Afghan refugees have also taken up residence in and around Karachi since 1979 when conflicts began in the region. Statistics from 2009 tell that almost 50,000 ethic Pashtun’s and Tajiks are resident to Karachi. The Pashtuns originally from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fata and Northern Balochistan are now the city's second largest ethnic group in Karachi after Muhajirs. Over 2 million IDPs came to Karachi after the Swat and Waziristan operation and some intelligence sources say that some of them were criminals associated with the Taliban. 

Political Conflicts:

Since politics in Karachi is driven and influenced by ethnic affiliation it is important to look into the various political parties active in the city. The MQM is an ethnic political party of the Urdu speaking community known as "Mohajirs," that migrated from India at the time of partition. Mohajirs make up around fifty percent of the total population in Karachi. The MQM classifies itself as a party for the middle-classes, following a secular and anti-extremist stance. It has a long history of clashes with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Awami National Party (ANP), which represents their rival ethnic community, the Pashtun’s. Today all three parties (MQM, ANP and PPP) are part of the ruling coalition government.

How Talibanization started in Karachi, Causes

Exploring the root cause of Talibanization in Karachi takes us back to the 1980’s when the Afghan jihad began. The ongoing war against terrorism in northwestern parts of the country also brought to Karachi a flow of arms and drugs along with a heavy population influx. The situation produced a culture of violence in the city and after the fall of the 9/11, Karachi’s ethnic conflicts appear to have been succeeded by ‘sectarian’ conflicts.

There are differences of opinion when it comes to the number of Taliban present in the city but one fact compelling all to forge a consensus is that the Taliban militants have overtaken the reign of terror previously held by militants with different identities, e.g. political, ethnic, sectarian and criminal. The Taliban nexus with Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in the city intensifies the threat.

Although the presence of Taliban in the city can hardly be denied by anyone, their existence in terms of physical strength has always been exaggerated. A high rank security official in Karachi, does not subscribe to the idea that 5000 Taliban militants have infiltrated into the city. He says, The TTP Karachi chapter has been divided into many small groups comprising 3 to 5 militants. If the police nab a militant, he doesn't give much information to help reach the high ranks due to his lack of knowledge about his own group.

Taliban linked militant groups or organizations working in Karachi

The 25 key Al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked militant groups which have literally taken hostage the port city of Karachi include five factions of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) - Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al Alami, Qari Zafar group, Qari Shakeel group, Akram Lahori group and Farooq Bengali group. Then there are three factions of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that are active in Karachi - Commander Waliur Rehman group (from South Waziristan), Badr Mansoor group (from North Waziristan) and Mullah Fazlullah group (from Swat). The remaining Jehadi/Sectarian groups in Karachi include Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan (SMP), Sunni Tehrik (ST), Daawat-e-Islami (DeI), Harkatul Mujahideen (HuM), Harkatul Mujahideen Al Alami (HUMA), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Jamaatul Furqaan (JuF), Harkatul Jehadul Islami (HuJI), Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), Jundallah, Tehrik-e-Islami Lashkar-e-Muhammadi (TILM), Lashkar-e-Islami (LeI), Mehdi Militia (MM), Hezbollah, Kharooj, Tawheed Brigade (TB), Al Mukhtar Group, Punjabi Mujahideen etc.

Funding Source

The Taliban linked militants make money through criminal and heinous activities. Karachi is their cash cow and primarily, they are generating funds for their organization by

1. Bank robberies
2. Kidnapping for Ransom and
3. Extortion

Bank Robberies
According to the Police, the Taliban are involved in 80% bank robberies, and 20 percent robberies are committed by criminal elements in the city from 2011 to 2013. The TTP recruits people from Karachi and robs banks and foreign exchange companies to generate funds for terrorist activities. These tasks are assigned to them by the central command in Waziristan. Several activists of TTP have confessed to police that they have committed bank robberies to provide money to the organization.

Kidnapping for Ransom
Kidnapping has become an industry in Karachi, a record-breaking number of cases took place in Karachi, crossing more than a hundred. Kidnapping of high-profile figures and businessmen for ransom is a major source of funding. Their targets are traders, doctors, lawyers, private company owners and children belonging to affluent families. Many cases of kidnapping are not reported to police, and families decide to pay the ransom money quietly fearing of repercussions from militants.

In 2008, prominent Pakistani filmmaker Satish Anand was kidnapped in Karachi. He was eventually released in the Miran Shah area of North Waziristan Agency after his family paid approximately $169,000 for his release. In 2011, three Punjabi militants kidnapped a local industrialist Riaz Chinoy and demanded approximately $740,000. Although they eventually lowered their demands to $211,000, all three militants were killed after the police raided the home in which they were holding Chinoy.

According to the data issued by CPLC, there were more than one thousand cases registered from 2003 to 2012, 98% cases were solved and 248 gangs were apprehended.

Extortion
The banned TTP and LJ were earlier kidnapping traders for ransom. But now they have changed their tactics and find extorting traders a much hassle free option. Extortion is a key source of funds for the Taliban, especially from the well-settled Pashtun businessmen in Karachi. They send a letter to them demanding money and nobody dares to say no. And if they refuse, their families and properties back will not be safe. They have also started extorting multinational companies and food chains. If the target failed to fulfill their demands they kill them mercilessly. Last year, the attacks on cell phone franchises were a more dangerous extension of that tactic. Citizens now feel hesitant going to public places as the militants have shown that they can strike anywhere any time. They are using two ways of extorting Karachiites. They send them extortion slip for full payment, or they make them pay a monthly extortion. The crime investigation department had recently arrested several TTP activists who were extorting people.

(There are many professional criminals who had branded themselves Taliban for committing crimes. Drawing a line between the real Taliban and fake Taliban, the security analyst says that Taliban abduction for ransom had always been well calculated while the fake Taliban would kidnap every person making irrational demands. A number of local criminal gangs have also been involved in extortion. The failure of the Police and administration to curb these groups has made Karachi a playground for extortion. The most feared of all such criminal groupings is the Lyari Gang operating in Karachi’s Lyari area. People’s Aman Committee (PAC) is the political face of the Lyari Gang. )

Major terror hits since 9/11 in Karachi

It should not be forgotten that unrest in one part of the world affects the law and order situation in the other parts too as the threat of terrorism has no borders. After 9/11, Karachi has been one of the main targets of the Al-Qaeda linked banned organizations as it is the major and important transit route used by US military during War on terror.

June 2002: US Consulate Karachi, A truck with a fertilizer bomb driven by a suicide bomber was detonated outside the Consulate. 12 persons, including five women killed 51 injured.

Feb 2003: Gunmen attacked United States Consulate; two police officers were killed and wounded five other officers and a civilian in front of the consulate.

May 2004: Pakistan-American Cultural Centre and residence of the US Consul-General in Karachi, Two car bombs exploded killing two persons and at least 33 injured, mostly police and media personnel wounded.

June 2004:
Gunmen opened fire on a convoy carrying the corps commander Lt Gen Ahsan Saleem Hayat, leaving 11 people dead in Karachi. The corps commander escaped unhurt.

Nov 2005: KFC restaurant in Karachi. At least three people killed and 20 others, including two South African women, sustain injuries in a powerful car bomb explosion.
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Mar 2006: US Consulate in Karachi. A US diplomat his Pakistani driver and a Rangers official were killed and 54 persons injured in a suicide car bombing.

October 2007
Attack on Benazir Bhutto’s rally killed over 139 in Karachi and left more than 450 injured in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Pakistan.

Dec 2009: Ashura attack took place, a bomb blasted the Shi'ite procession killing 43 people

November 2010: The Criminal Investigation Department targeted in Karachi.
At least 20 people killed and more than 100 injured in a suicide truck bombing.

May 2011: Mehran Naval Base attacked in Karachi, killing at least nine people and destroying two P-3C Orion maritime surveillance aircraft.

November 2012: Rangers Headquarters targeted, A suicide bomber slammed an explosives-laden truck into one of the entrances of the Rangers compound killing 3 ranger personal and 21, including civilians injured.

Challenges:

Militancy and terrorism are the biggest challenges facing liberal political parties, civil society and law enforcement agencies. The Taliban often threaten government officials, security personnel, political leaders and workers. MQM is the only political party that has consistently talked about the Talibanization of Karachi and has been a vocal critic of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan, in a statement said that they had decided to target the MQM. In terrorism related violence MQM has lost 222 activists including leaders in Sindh in the last two years. In this year January, Tehrik-e-Taliban claimed responsibility on the attack of MQM Member of provincial Assembly Manzar Imam.

The Awami National Party (ANP) is being threatened by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to end political activities in Pukhtoon-dominated areas of Karachi. They also claimed responsibility for the assassination of the workers of the Awami National Party. On the other hand, ANP Sindh leader Bashir Jan says that The Taliban have killed some of their people in Karachi but they are not responsible for all the killings.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik informed the Senate that Taliban wanted to take over the Karachi offices of the Awami National Party (ANP) and interior ministry had informed the party leadership about these threats.

According to Police, A letter containing a hit-list has been intercepted, which includes Abdul Sattar Edhi Pakistan’s most revered social worker and a “living saint” who runs the country’s largest charity, which operates hundreds of ambulances and shelters for women, children and the destitute. In December 2012, Gunmen killed six health workers during a nationwide polio vaccination drive. Later on police arrested five alleged Taliban on suspicion of killing women polio vaccinators and plotting to attack Karachi airport.

Police and rangers officers who are working to destroy the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its linked militant organizations in Karachi are on the TTP’s hit list.

Threats to Media:

Journalists are also facing threats in the performance of their professional duties. According to the report issued by the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) of the interior ministry, TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud has compiled a list of targets and directed the group’s fighters to launch attacks against national and international media outlets in the country especially Karachi. Several prominent journalists are on the list. Some terrorist groups have also planned attacks on offices and studios of media houses, and the Taliban have also threatened media outlets through emails and phone calls as well.

Terrorism Related Fatalities in Sindh: 2010- 2013

Years	Civilians	Security Force Personnel	Militants	Total
2010	777	61	158	996
2011	1082	61	68	1211
2012	1318	118	117	1553
2013	109	14	6	129
Total*	3286	254	349	3889

                                                Source: SATP, *Data till January 27, 2013

There have been a total of 3889 casualties due to terrorist activities in Sindh from 2010-2013, which include civilians, security personnel and militants.

Role of Government (Action Against Taliban)

The Supreme Court has ordered the government of Sindh, to take the issue of the presence of the Taliban in the capital city of Karachi seriously. Reports say at least 5, 000 to 7,000 Pro-Taliban militants have made their way into the country's largest city and its commercial hub.

Law enforcement agencies have arrested several key suspects of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in search operations. During the targeted operations, Karachi Police also recovered weapons, bullets, suicide jackets and stolen vehicles, from their possession.

Conclusion

Despite the rampant Talibanization of the city which continues on the sidelines, Karachi continues to function as the economic lifeline of the country and cannot be ignored or left to bleed. It required emergency political and security measures to end the ongoing violence. Peace can only be restored by depoliticizing the police and other security agencies and it is the responsibility of the ruling political parties to come to some form of agreement to save the city, as an unstable Karachi will destabilize the entire country.

Although the city remains widely covered in the news for its volatile security situation, corruption and crime life continues to go on in the city. A city that has become labeled as dangerous and unstable is also the financial and fashion capital of the country. While incidents of target killing, inflation and load shedding continue, what also continue on are the vibrant cultural happenings across the city. Fashion shows, theatre, festivals and other activities are often left out in the news stories. These happenings show that no matter what, life in Karachi goes on. This highlights the resilient nature of its citizens that fight social and political injustices with every day. The energy of the people of Karachi, and subsequently the city itself is palpable.

 As a born-and-bred Karachiite told me, “You can’t live with Karachi, but you can’t live without it.”

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Written and Produced by

Najia Ashar

Anchor/Producer

Geo News