29 April 2015

Pakistan military's move on Karachi seen part of 'creeping coup'

By Mehreen Zahra-Malik 
Apr 27, 2015

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The chief of Pakistan's main spy agency is spearheading a campaign to wrest control of the teeming port city of Karachi from a powerful political party, the military's latest, and some say boldest, foray into civilian life in recent years. 

According to military officials, police officers and members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party which has traditionally dominated Karachi, Rizwan Akhtar has decided the time for policing the city from the sidelines is over. 

"There is a quiet, creeping takeover of Karachi by the military," said a government official close to Akhtar, head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, which traditionally acts as an extension of army power in Pakistan.

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