ianstone
08-03-2010, 05:48 AM
Officials: 37 gunned down in Pakistan's Karachi
By ASHRAF KHAN
The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 3, 2010; 1:57 AM
KARACHI, Pakistan (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/pakistan.html?nav=el) -- Gunmen killed at least 37 people in Pakistan's largest city after the assassination of a lawmaker, officials said Tuesday. Dozens of vehicles and shops were set on fire as security forces struggled to gain control of Karachi.
The southern city of more than 16 million has a history of political, ethnic and religious violence, and has long been a hide-out for al-Qaida and Taliban militants. Its stability is important for Pakistan because it is the country's main commercial hub.
The latest unrest came after Raza Haider, a provincial lawmaker, was shot dead along with his bodyguard in a mosque in Nazimabad area while preparing to offer prayers Monday.
Haider was a member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the political party that runs the city and represents mainly descendants of migrants from India (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/india.html?nav=el) who settled in Pakistan when it was created in 1947.
The MQM's main nemesis is the Awami National Party, a secular nationalist party whose main power center is Pakistan's northwest and whose base is the ethnic Pashtun community.
Independent analysts say followers of all political parties in Karachi are heavily involved in criminal activities such as protection rackets and illegal land dealings. In certain neigborboods, armed men linked to political parties stand guard at checkpoints.
Was it murder or a Cull, views differ, but PC stops some people of giving there honest opinions
By ASHRAF KHAN
The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 3, 2010; 1:57 AM
KARACHI, Pakistan (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/pakistan.html?nav=el) -- Gunmen killed at least 37 people in Pakistan's largest city after the assassination of a lawmaker, officials said Tuesday. Dozens of vehicles and shops were set on fire as security forces struggled to gain control of Karachi.
The southern city of more than 16 million has a history of political, ethnic and religious violence, and has long been a hide-out for al-Qaida and Taliban militants. Its stability is important for Pakistan because it is the country's main commercial hub.
The latest unrest came after Raza Haider, a provincial lawmaker, was shot dead along with his bodyguard in a mosque in Nazimabad area while preparing to offer prayers Monday.
Haider was a member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the political party that runs the city and represents mainly descendants of migrants from India (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/india.html?nav=el) who settled in Pakistan when it was created in 1947.
The MQM's main nemesis is the Awami National Party, a secular nationalist party whose main power center is Pakistan's northwest and whose base is the ethnic Pashtun community.
Independent analysts say followers of all political parties in Karachi are heavily involved in criminal activities such as protection rackets and illegal land dealings. In certain neigborboods, armed men linked to political parties stand guard at checkpoints.
Was it murder or a Cull, views differ, but PC stops some people of giving there honest opinions