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| India-Pakistan |
| Law enforcers liberate Taliban 'no-go zones' in Karachi |
| 2015-09-15 |
| [DAWN] With a machine-gun in the back seat, his foot on the accelerator and wearing "Top Gun" style sunglasses, Azfar Mahesar pushes deeper into the heart of one of 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... 's "Talibanised" areas. "This used to be a war zone, but we have liberated it," says the slightly chubby policeman with pride as his vehicle races through the Pak city of 20 million. Over the past few years, one word has been on everyone's lips here: "Talibanisation." If the remote mountains that straddle the Pakistain and Afghanistan border have been the krazed killer group's playground, Karachi, Pakistain's economic hub on the Arabian Sea, has been the myrmidons' hideout and cash-cow. The Taliban dug deep into areas populated by ethnic Pashtuns, creating virtual "no-go zones" and terrorising the local population with extortion and kidnappings for ransom to provide funding for their krazed killers. But officials say that has all changed now. "Talibanisation in Karachi has died down," says Mahesar, a former soldier turned senior police officer in the most dangerous, western part of the city. "I can say very confidently 70 to 80 per cent are purged. There are a few remnants in Karachi but they are not as capable of coming back with the efficiency that they had a year or so ago," he adds. Today, coppers wearing flak jackets are advancing deep into the bowels of one of the remaining "no-go zones", through dug-up streets and up rocky hills that mark the city's western edge. "This was a local Taliban HQ," one says as he stands before a pulverised hovel. |
| Posted by:Fred |