Killings target Karachi

Karachi: With unknown gunmen killing four more people on Wednesday in different incidents of 'target killings' in Karachi, the number of people who have been killed in the past 24 hours now goes up to 33. More than 70 people have now died in the five-day old wave of violence.

This week's violence has coincided with a 17 October election to replace a local lawmaker assassinated at a mosque on 2 August.

Matters have turned sufficiently grave for Pakistan prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, to state unequivocally that the army was not being called in Karachi to restore law and order, and that the political leadership was capable of addressing the issue.

Saying that the army could be called in to assist the civilian government, he however added that ''...the political leadership of the country was capable of containing the situation.''

'Target killings' is a phrase that has originated in the city to describe a phenomenon where unknown gunmen kill a person or persons and disappear.

The killings are never for monetary gain and are usually linked to political groups who control gangs of such killers. The aim appears to be to consolidate political power in a city that is divided along political, ethnic and sectarian lines.