Ethnic tensions grip Karachi

KARACHI - Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has been facing hard times as its two coalition partners appeared to be at daggers drawn on issues like allegations of Talibanisation in the City and surging activities of land mafia.
For the last two weeks MQM, a major coalition partner in Sindh, is repeatedly raising its concerns about Talibanisation in the City and had warned that if steps were not taken immediately, the fire, which currently engulfing NWFP, may reach Karachi. But representatives of ANP, the junior partner in the Sindh coalition, are vehemently denying that there was any sort of Talibanisation present in Karachi.
These statements and accusations are coming from the two allies of the government and which is making political waves and commotion in the PPP which find it hard to keep balance between the two.
However, recent past history of the City suggests that any tension between the residents of the City had only raised political temperatures which resulted into killing and worsening of law and order situation.
Sindh had witnessed blood bath in the name of ethnic strife that turned into a conflagration in the 70s, 80s and 90s due to the follies of previous governments.
Ethnic clashes in Sindh had started after a student of Sir Syed College for Women, Nazimabad, Karachi, Bushra Zaidi, was crushed to death by a mini-bus in April 1985 followed by armed clashes between the Urdu speaking people and the Pathans resulting in severe killings and loot and arson incidents.  
Bushra Zaidi’s sister and three other friends were seriously injured in the accident. The reaction from the people was spontaneous. Many other innocent persons had also met a similar fate before the tragic death of Zaidi.
The students from Sir Syed College for Women marched on the streets to protest the death of their fellow student. A large number of people also joined them. The reaction of the police was savage. The trouble soon spread to Liaquatabad and the next day the mob went on the rampage setting buses, wagons and every other vehicle on fire.