[Dawn] Rampant violence has terrorised Bloody Karachi...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
, Pakistain's biggest city and economic heartbeat, in recent years, but a recent security crackdown seems to have brought a lull in the bloodshed.
Kidnappings for ransom, sectarian attacks and gang warfare have spiralled since 2008, terrifying the city's 18 million inhabitants and prompting tens of thousands of businessmen to flee to the safety of Punjab province.
The city claimed a grisly record last year as 2,124 people were murdered on its streets, according to the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), the highest number since records began nearly 20 years ago.
"The merciless killings have turned this 'bride of cities' into a city of ghosts and darkness," said Tauseef Ahmed Khan, a political analyst, referring to Karachi's Persian nickname.
But an operation by police and paramilitary government Rangers in the city's tangled maze of teeming streets, launched early September on the orders of the central government, seems to be having some positive effect.
The CPLC said that in September 155 killings were reported -- down from 280 in August. With a total of 2,058 murders up to the end of September 2013 it is on course to beat last year's record, but the crackdown appears to have at least slowed the killings.
Aftab Chunar, the head of the autopsy department of the city's largest state-run Civil Hospital, told AFP that before the operation he was receiving 16 to 18 bodies a day. Now the figure has fallen to three or four.