Two deaths in three weeks

All is certainly not well in Karachi.

Three weeks ago, the elder brother of a close friend was shot dead in a car snatching episode near Hyderi. This evening I heard about the murder of another close friend's father who was killed inside his home by four youngsters who barged in early Friday morning.

I know I have spoken about personal violence in Karachi and the security situation and I have spoken about it lightly. Now I am not sure if I am comfortable anymore in openly advocating a return to your home town. Life and death comes from God and is written but you and your family need to be comfortable with that mindset.

The sad part is that neither item made it to the daily Dawn. Not on the main page, not on Metropolitan. Apparantely an understanding has been reached where the press no longer reports the true crime situation. Ignorance is bliss?

To be fair, compared to the mid and late 90's, the situation is better in the sense that you no longer find three bodies in a bori every day. You see better police and ranger patrolling and presence and at times even a faster response time. There is more traffic on the roads at 2am and 5am today. Night life in Karachi now routinely extends beyond 1 am. Targeted killing of professionals is also under control. Kidnappings happen, but either we don't hear about them, or the pace has slowed down.

Having said that one violent death within an immediate cricle of friends causes more disillusionment than a larger number outside that circle. May God have mercy on our collective souls and keep us and our loved ones under his protection.