In Karachi, the Taliban Digs In for the Long Haul

In the mountains near the Afghan frontier, former Pakistan army soldier Abdullah Chachar could take clean shots at Taliban militants. Now a policeman in Karachi, his target hasn’t changed, but he worries about bystanders. “We have to be careful when we open fire,” says Chachar, who joined the force in February after three years on the border. “Because of the buildings and general public, Karachi is a more dangerous place than the tribal areas to fight.” Karachi, one of the world’s fastest-growing megacities, with a population of more than 20 million, is becoming a new front in Pakistan’s war on terror as the Taliban moves to the streets from the mountains. Added to the poverty, gangs, and political violence, the insurgency makes the metropolis an extreme case of the chaos and commerce that can co-exist in some of the developing world’s growing cities.

Pakistan has suffered an escalation in violence since it joined the war on terror after the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. Pakistani militants, including the Taliban, are entrenched in the country’s northwest along the Afghan border. The Pakistan army has launched several operations against the Taliban and other groups.