Pakistan Reader# 750, 20 April 2024
D. Suba Chandran
Targeting Japanese nationals in Karachi might have been a case of mistaken identity. The reasons and the perpetrators either belong to Balochistan, or they represent the multiple shades of violence that the city of lights has been witnessing during the recent decades.
On 19 April 2024, a suicide bomber in Karachi targeted a vehicle carrying five Japanese nationals, killing the private guard accompanying them.
Though no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, preliminary news reports suggest the Baloch militant groups or its allies in Karachi. According to a report in the News:
“In recent years, especially after operations such as Zarb-e-Azb, Raddul Fassad and the Karachi operation against Taliban and other militant outfits, Karachi has seen a rise in nationalist sentiment, particularly from parties in Sindh and Balochistan.
Groups like the BLA and the Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army (SRA) have been active with the collaboration of various separatist groups under the umbrella organization BRAS.
Their joint ventures in Karachi have increased significantly. While the SRA has mainly been involved in target killings and railway track sabotage, the BLA has expanded its activities to suicide bombings in Karachi.
Over the past few years, more than two dozen terrorist incidents have been attributed to organizations affiliated with BRAS, with Chinese nationals and law enforcement agencies being the primary targets.”
It appears that the who part of the latest attack has been confirmed. The following analysis examines the why part and explains the more significant reasons that make Karachi, supposedly a city of lights, into a city of violence.
Why would the militants target Japanese nationals in Karachi?
Earlier this month, an exclusive Pakistan Reader commentary (Dhriti Mukherjee, "Profile: Street Crimes in Karachi," CWA # 1283, 9 April 2024) analyzed the issue of street crimes in Karachi, looking into their causes and the government’s response. The latest attack on Japanese nationals is not part of Karachi’s continuing street crimes. It belongs to a different genre.
The News, quoting a senior counter-terrorism officer of the Sindh police’s Counter-Terrorism Department, said: “Circumstantial evidence, history and motive all indicate that this attack was carried out based on a misunderstanding. And there were no such threat alerts that warned of targeting the Japanese either.”
Initial reports suggest that the perpetrators may have mistaken the Japanese to be Chinese. There were attacks on the Chinese earlier in Karachi. So, the attack could have been a case of mistaken identity; this needs to be confirmed. Subsequent investigation will inform the rest about who and why.
This note, however, looks beyond the attack on Japanese or Chinese nationals in the city of lights and explores the multiple shades of violence in Karachi.
Seven Shades of Violence in Karachi
The first and most crucial shade is the political violence led by different political parties. According to the latest census report, there are more than 20 million people in Karachi. While Karachi is the capital of Sindh, the majority in the city are the Muhajirs, most of whom migrated from India. Pashtuns from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan form the second most important ethnic group in Karachi’s demography. Although Sindhis form a majority in the province, they are a minority in Karachi.
To whom does Karachi belong? This is a significant question for the ethnic groups and the political parties that represent them. The MQM, ANP, and now the PTI and the PPP claim to represent the interests of the Muhajirs, Pashtuns, and Sindhis, respectively. Political patronage of violence by different parties is the primary reason for violence and the failed efforts to counter it. The bureaucracy stands divided along party lines in Karachi, complicating the counter-efforts.
The second shade, which can be seen differently from political ones, is ethnic. Karachi has a multi-ethnic population, as mentioned above. Karachi is also divided ethnically in terms of geography and economy. Some sectors have been monopolized by particular ethnic communities, and any individual act invariably leads to an ethnic encounter. For example, an innocent road accident could lead to ethnic violence because the drivers and the transport sector are dominated by a particular ethnic community.
The third shade of violence in Karachi is sectarian. Karachi is not only home to multiple ethnic communities in Pakistan (and Afghanistan) but also to multiple religious and sectarian parties belonging to Deobandi, Brelvi and other denominations within Sunni Islam. Religious parties like the Jamaat-e-Islami have a strong presence in Karachi. These parties may have support cutting across ethnic lines but are aligned in sectarian terms. The religious parties also fight with other political parties to control Karachi.
The fourth shade of violence in Karachi is militancy. From the days of militant violence led by the MQM since the late 1980s, Karachi has witnessed the presence of different militant groups and organizations – especially the Baloch, TTP and even al Qaeda. The suicide attacks against the Chinese (including the latest one on the Japanese, whether they were a mistaken identity or otherwise)
The fifth shade is street crimes. A recent report by Pakistan Reader has captured the why and what of street crimes in Karachi. Motivated more by economic and petty crime reasons, street crimes are not organized but more regular.
The sixth shade, though not limited to the Karachi metropolis, is gang violence. Multiple essays and documentaries have been undertaken, for example, on the gangs of Lyari, but nothing has been done to address them.
The seventh shade is the state violence in Karachi. Since the days of military operation in Karachi in the 1990s, the city has witnessed State violence in the name of counter-militancy operations, led by the military then and the para-military now. Though this has come down substantially in recent years, the phenomenon is part of Karachi’s violent background.
Two issues make countering the shades of violence complex: the political response and the availability of small arms in Karachi. Back to the issue of the day – the attack on Japanese nationals in Karachi. The answer is not in just addressing the militant groups and their presence in Karachi. It has resulted in nightmares for those who have reached the city of lights with multiple dreams.
On 19 April 2024, a suicide bomber in Karachi targeted a vehicle carrying five Japanese nationals, killing the private guard accompanying them.
Though no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, preliminary news reports suggest the Baloch militant groups or its allies in Karachi. According to a report in the News:
“In recent years, especially after operations such as Zarb-e-Azb, Raddul Fassad and the Karachi operation against Taliban and other militant outfits, Karachi has seen a rise in nationalist sentiment, particularly from parties in Sindh and Balochistan.
Groups like the BLA and the Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army (SRA) have been active with the collaboration of various separatist groups under the umbrella organization BRAS.
Their joint ventures in Karachi have increased significantly. While the SRA has mainly been involved in target killings and railway track sabotage, the BLA has expanded its activities to suicide bombings in Karachi.
Over the past few years, more than two dozen terrorist incidents have been attributed to organizations affiliated with BRAS, with Chinese nationals and law enforcement agencies being the primary targets.”
It appears that the who part of the latest attack has been confirmed. The following analysis examines the why part and explains the more significant reasons that make Karachi, supposedly a city of lights, into a city of violence.
Why would the militants target Japanese nationals in Karachi?
Earlier this month, an exclusive Pakistan Reader commentary (Dhriti Mukherjee, "Profile: Street Crimes in Karachi," CWA # 1283, 9 April 2024) analyzed the issue of street crimes in Karachi, looking into their causes and the government’s response. The latest attack on Japanese nationals is not part of Karachi’s continuing street crimes. It belongs to a different genre.
The News, quoting a senior counter-terrorism officer of the Sindh police’s Counter-Terrorism Department, said: “Circumstantial evidence, history and motive all indicate that this attack was carried out based on a misunderstanding. And there were no such threat alerts that warned of targeting the Japanese either.”
Initial reports suggest that the perpetrators may have mistaken the Japanese to be Chinese. There were attacks on the Chinese earlier in Karachi. So, the attack could have been a case of mistaken identity; this needs to be confirmed. Subsequent investigation will inform the rest about who and why.
This note, however, looks beyond the attack on Japanese or Chinese nationals in the city of lights and explores the multiple shades of violence in Karachi.
Seven Shades of Violence in Karachi
The first and most crucial shade is the political violence led by different political parties. According to the latest census report, there are more than 20 million people in Karachi. While Karachi is the capital of Sindh, the majority in the city are the Muhajirs, most of whom migrated from India. Pashtuns from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan form the second most important ethnic group in Karachi’s demography. Although Sindhis form a majority in the province, they are a minority in Karachi.
To whom does Karachi belong? This is a significant question for the ethnic groups and the political parties that represent them. The MQM, ANP, and now the PTI and the PPP claim to represent the interests of the Muhajirs, Pashtuns, and Sindhis, respectively. Political patronage of violence by different parties is the primary reason for violence and the failed efforts to counter it. The bureaucracy stands divided along party lines in Karachi, complicating the counter-efforts.
The second shade, which can be seen differently from political ones, is ethnic. Karachi has a multi-ethnic population, as mentioned above. Karachi is also divided ethnically in terms of geography and economy. Some sectors have been monopolized by particular ethnic communities, and any individual act invariably leads to an ethnic encounter. For example, an innocent road accident could lead to ethnic violence because the drivers and the transport sector are dominated by a particular ethnic community.
The third shade of violence in Karachi is sectarian. Karachi is not only home to multiple ethnic communities in Pakistan (and Afghanistan) but also to multiple religious and sectarian parties belonging to Deobandi, Brelvi and other denominations within Sunni Islam. Religious parties like the Jamaat-e-Islami have a strong presence in Karachi. These parties may have support cutting across ethnic lines but are aligned in sectarian terms. The religious parties also fight with other political parties to control Karachi.
The fourth shade of violence in Karachi is militancy. From the days of militant violence led by the MQM since the late 1980s, Karachi has witnessed the presence of different militant groups and organizations – especially the Baloch, TTP and even al Qaeda. The suicide attacks against the Chinese (including the latest one on the Japanese, whether they were a mistaken identity or otherwise)
The fifth shade is street crimes. A recent report by Pakistan Reader has captured the why and what of street crimes in Karachi. Motivated more by economic and petty crime reasons, street crimes are not organized but more regular.
The sixth shade, though not limited to the Karachi metropolis, is gang violence. Multiple essays and documentaries have been undertaken, for example, on the gangs of Lyari, but nothing has been done to address them.
The seventh shade is the state violence in Karachi. Since the days of military operation in Karachi in the 1990s, the city has witnessed State violence in the name of counter-militancy operations, led by the military then and the para-military now. Though this has come down substantially in recent years, the phenomenon is part of Karachi’s violent background.
Two issues make countering the shades of violence complex: the political response and the availability of small arms in Karachi. Back to the issue of the day – the attack on Japanese nationals in Karachi. The answer is not in just addressing the militant groups and their presence in Karachi. It has resulted in nightmares for those who have reached the city of lights with multiple dreams.
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