Interior Minister Rehman Maliks claim that no political party is involved in target killings in Karachi not only contradicts his own earlier stand but also flies in the face of former Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirzas unequivocal condemnation of the 'biggest political party of the metropolis for spreading the menace. One fails to understand whether to believe Dr Mirzas 'facts and figures he claimed to have collected from law enforcement agencies or the statement of Mr Malik. At least one of them is twisting the truth. That might serve political ends, but would be of no help to the suffering Karachiites. In order to remedy a malady of such horrific proportions, the first requirement is to diagnose the fault that is at the root of the problem which apparently is being ignored by the federal set-up. Karachis bane has been ethnic and politically motivated violence and so far thousands have been slain on these grounds. And one of the major reasons why this scourge has worsened with the passage of time is the cowardly failure of those who matter to turn the spotlight on the political or anti-social elements responsible for patronizing criminal gangs, particularly target killers. The right strategy would be to treat the Karachi conundrum as not only a law and order issue but also to remove the peoples grouses. Action should be taken against the actual killers and those who order them around. Mere rhetoric and exchange of accusations have done great harm to the people. What is needed is to reach at the bottom of this menace. It is a fact that during the past three years neither the federal nor the provincial authorities have shown mettle enough to fix the problem. Given the genuineness of intention, anyone with commonsense would by now have been able to come to grips with the problem. Under no circumstances can the federal government be pardoned for ignoring the unmitigated suffering of the Karachiites. Besides the ever-deteriorating security climate has taken a heavy toll on industry and commerce. The PPP-led government has to change its apathetic attitude and immediately take concrete steps to prevent the hired killers from spilling blood in broad daylight. In view of prevailing mayhem in Karachi at such a large scale, PPPs boast about Sindh being its traditional power base becomes a standing joke.