(2 Jul 2012) Concern is growing in Karachi - population 18 (m) million and Pakistan's largest city - as government forces seem unable to stem a rising tide of murder, torture and kidnapping.
In the first half of 2012 more than 700 people from different ethnic, sectarian or political affiliations were killed, mostly shot.
Officials claim the killings will be controlled, but many people doubt the government will bring those behind the killings to justice.
The family of 32-year Hasan Raza still do not know why he was kidnapped and killed on 17 June, let alone by whom.
In a small cottage in northern Karachi, his mother, sisters and other relatives mourn his death cursing the unknown killers who tortured then murdered him.
"He was killed so brutally, whoever hears it cannot stop crying. I have not seen the body of my brother, just heard about the state of it and I am crying. What he has done? He did nothing. Why did they kill him so brutally. Who were they? We can't accept the reality that our brother is no more," said Farah Raza, Hasan's sister, as tears rolled down her cheek.
According to official data, four or five men, women and children were gunned down daily in the five months to May 2012.
The merciless killings have raised serious questions about the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies.
Video footage of bodies laying in state-run mortuaries is regularly broadcast on Pakistan's local TV news channels.
In some cases, the victims are kidnapped and tortured, then a mutilated body is found in a gunny bag - and the motive is often far from clear.
Some of the killings involve local or family feuds, some are sectarian, some follow ransom demands and others seem to be just random, or business-based.
The police have made arrests over the so-called "target killings."
Some people have come to suspect police involvement in the death squads, or at least corruption and cover-up action.
Ahmed Chinoy, a security expert, specialising in kidnap cases, predicts that the number of victims in 2012 will far exceed last year's figure of 1,600.
"The basic reason I can see is the lack of political will, lack of administration will." said Chenoy, who heads the Citizen Police Liaison Committee (CPLC).
Members of Karachi's business community, who are widely considered to be peaceful, took to the streets last week to protest against threats of extortion and kidnapping for ransom.
Officials believe that besides petty criminals and organised gangs, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is also taking a share to fund their guerilla war with the Pakistan Army in tribal territories.
"TTP is present here," said government security adviser Rehman Malik.
"They are of course generating funds from their masters abroad and also they are generating funds locally," he continued.
Volatile Karachi contributes more than 60 percent to Pakistan's GDP and the diversified ethnic and sectarian settlements make it susceptible to different bloody conflicts, especially under a weak or absent administration.


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