On April 15, 1985, a 20-year-old college student Bushra Zaidi was killed by a speeding minibus in Nazimabad neighbourhood of Karachi. Her sister was also injured in the road accident, as well as a few other students. Burhra Zaidi's killing triggered widespread protests by students against rash driving, followed by violence in many parts of the city. Instead of tactfully dealing with protesters, the police used excessive force only to augment the violence — which was soon given an ethnic colour.

Since then, Karachi has been in the grip of periodic outbreak of violence. More recently, killings by heavy vehicles, like dumper trucks and water tankers, threaten to ignite ethnic violence in the city.

At a press conference in Islamabad on April 8, MQM-P leaders warned that the people of Karachi would not tolerate killings on the roads of Karachi and accused the PPP-led Sindh government of neglecting real issues facing the 30 million-strong mega city. The MQM-P leaders said that more than 90% of cops and bureaucrats in Karachi are non-locals which is the root cause of the various crises facing the city.

They also questioned the recent appointment of the Sindh police chief, claiming that the development was followed by a surge in criminal activities across the province. The MQM-P leaders lamented that Karachi, despite accounting for 60% of the federal and 90% of the provincial revenue, gets the step-motherly treatment.

Meanwhile, Afaq Ahmed, the Chairman of Mohajir Quami Movement, also bitterly criticised the killing of Karachiites by heavy vehicles; acute water shortage in........

© The Express Tribune