Police Building attacked: Karachi, Pakistan

Makeda Tiye Young

November 12, 2010

4:13pm

Karachi, Pakistan which is the country's largest city of 18 million was home to the police facility located in the center of the city that was attacked by the Pakistani Taliban. As for the latest report there has been atleast 18 people killed and as many as 100 injured from the gunmen and vehicle bomber. Karachi has a "red zone" in which highly secured areas which contain elite hotels, the provincial minister's residence, U.S. Consulate as well as the criminal investigations office that was attacked. It was determined that the assault was well-organized with about six militants opening fire and a truck bombing that made the building into nothing more than a pile of rocks. The police facility was also the leading terrorist tracking agency which was believed to have detainees but the police chief Khattak spoke to journalist explaining that there were no terrorist suspects inside. The attacks usually have targeted security forces that were present in tribal areas along the border of Afghanistan but now are on a much larger scale.

Violence is so prevalent is this city because of the ethnic and sectarian rivalries. The problem that this attack proposed other than tragedy of terrorism itself is the large-scale bombings. This brings another state of terror alert because the fears are that the Pakistani Taliban and other Islamist groups may have been gathering funds for their terrorist operations which only extends their influence and reach. What I find interesting from a sociological yet political perspective is the Karachi’s party socially blaming the large population of Pashtun migrants for the uprising of the Taliban. It is something like what we have seen with the Tamil Tigers and the discrimination of the Tamil people. This in turn have produced terrorists which some people have no control over.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/11/AR2010111101995.html