THE threat of violence — be it ethnic, sectarian or political — is never very far in Karachi, and incidents have, in the past, snowballed into major crises, resulting in several days of bloodletting. Hence the killing of Ahmed Madni, a cleric linked to the Ahl-i-Sunnat Wal Jamaat, and his son on Saturday night in North Karachi is cause for concern as it has the potential to give rise to further unrest. The slain cleric, who survived a murder attempt in 2005, was the half-brother of Azam Tariq, a key leader of the Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, as ASWJ was formerly known. Mr Tariq himself met a violent end in a bloody ambush near Islamabad in 2003. Another ASWJ supporter was gunned down in the Orangi area early Sunday and the killings spread tension in various localities. The party has criticised the government’s ‘indifference’ to the killing of its supporters and has called for nationwide protests on March 11.

Various SSP leaders and activists have been killed in Karachi over the recent past but few, if any, arrests have been made. True, the group has an unsavoury reputation and has played a major role in the spread of violent sectarianism in Pakistan. Yet, if the killings are not checked by the state, the situation can easily spiral out of control. What complicates matters is that criminal gangs are believed to be involved in ‘targeted’ killings while ethnic and sectarian rivalries also overlap in the metropolis. But despite the complications the government needs to arrest and prosecute all those involved in sectarian murders. In the long term, the state also needs to shut down all groups that preach violence and sectarianism in the guise of religion. For too long have these elements been given free rein, which is why today such a state of lawlessness prevails in Pakistan.