Lyari operation attempts to restore peace in Karachi

• Police enter a neighbourhood in Lyari, Karachi, April 30 as part of an anti-gang crackdown. Authorities have arrested several suspected gang members in the Lyari operation. [Zia Ur Rehman]
• Police arrest a suspected Lyari gang member in Karachi April 30. [Zia Ur Rehman]

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In the past seven days at least 27 people, including police, have been killed and 60 wounded in the Lyari area, while more than 150 families have fled their homes to escape fighting between police, militants and criminal.
The crackdown follows Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari’s orders to contain the violence. He also ordered political parties to form a peace committee.
IG Sindh Mushtaq Shah said May 3 that the Taliban were among those battling police in Lyari, and that the fighting could end May 4, media reported.
In 2011, Karachi saw 1,715 killings, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. During the first four months of 2012, more than 400 murders occurred, media reported, adding most of the victims were members of political parties.