Within the past 24 hours, gunmen have killed at least 25 people in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi. The killings took place on Sunday, when an election was going on to replace a lawmaker who was murdered in August. Police are still investigating whether the shootings were politically motivated. Police said many "target killings" in Karachi have been linked to gangs controlled by the city's main political parties. The killings took place all over the city and were not confined to the area where the elections were held. There are two parties most linked to the violence. They are the Muttahida Quami Movement and the Awami National Party. Raza Haider, the member of the assembly who was gunned down in August, was a senior member of the MQM. Both parties were competing for Haider's vacant seat. Senior MQM leader and member of Parliament, Haider Abbas Rizvi, accused the ANP of being behind the shootings because 19 workers and supporters of the MQM have been killed so far. However, senior ANP member, Amin Khattak, denied the accusations.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130632058
Submitted by Emily Collins
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