Dozens Killed In Fourth Day of Pakistan Violence

The Washington Post reports:

A wave of deadly political and ethnic violence gripped Pakistan’s largest city for the fourth straight day Friday, and police and paramilitary troops were given orders to shoot suspected assailants on sight.

As many as 95 people have been killed in Karachi since Tuesday in assassinations, shooting sprees on buses and arson attacks, according to local media, which have faulted political and security officials for doing little to stop the carnage. The fighting spread this week from a lower-middle-class district to other parts of the seaside metropolis, and by Friday the city was under near-lockdown as armed men fired from windows and rooftops.

Karachi, a commercial hub of 18 million people where various ethnic and political groups compete for land and votes, has for decades been the scene of gang-style bloodshed. But this week’s fighting ranks among the deadliest, and those killed included ordinary residents along with political activists, Pakistani media reported.

Authorities said at least 34 people were killed on Thursday alone, becoming the latest victims in a year in which the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan says at least 1,138 have been slain in Karachi.