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Bloody Karachi - where a cop is killed every day
 Karachi Police are fighting back against the Taliban by trying to root out militants hiding in the city suburbs, but it's dangerous work. Out of 15,000 police officers in the city, on average one dies every day."They are not pious. They are common criminals," says Ijaz, a senior officer in Karachi Police Criminal Investigation Department. "They generate money from drug sales, extortion and kidnap to fund their war. Any crime you can think of the Taliban is involved in. You will find them in gambling dens, with liquor bottles and they often use the services of prostitutes." "It's easy to fight them in the north of Pakistan because there is a clear target," he says. "But in a city like Karachi it's very difficult because there are more than 70 splinter groups… and you don't know who your enemy is. We are in a real war." Ijaz and his team of 25 heavily armed officers carry out regular night raids in some of these hiding places, which have fast become no-go areas for other police units, especially after sunset. In the 12 months from the start of September 2013 to the end of August this year not a single terrorism case resulted in a conviction. Ijaz says this has a demoralising effect on his colleagues. "Witnesses are fearful for their lives. Testifying in court against the Taliban is a risk that many people are just not willing to take," he says. "We also have a real lack of resources in terms of phone-tapping and forensic evidence. It can often take 10 years or more for a case to go through the courts. Justice delayed can often be justice denied." But Ijaz himself remains motivated. "We will not be bullied by these terrorists," he says. "That is the moral victory. We will gain physical victory one day, inshallah." Posted by: Pappy 2014-11-21 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=404709 |