Human blood is running in a gusher in Karachi and people want to forget it all for the sake of something called 'political reconciliation. We are living in the 21st century where the state has the obligation towards citizens to ensure protection of their lives and property; it just does not have the discretion to ignore crimes like targeted murder of its citizens. It is unthinkable that the state could ignore any political group, no matter how powerful, despite its proclivity to resort to murder and arson. There are more licensed and unlicensed weapons in Karachi today than in any other settled area of Pakistan. It is a privilege of the powerful in this city to be free to act as a mafia let loose. The proof of this allegation is dotted in scams all over Karachi, from Gutter Baghicha to Musharraf Colony to the Kidney Hill Park, with the most recent attempt to grab the KPT owned land in Mai Kolachi. There are then the illegal allotment of over 400 federal government owned real estate properties in Karachi during the Musharraf era, a scandal that was broken by the than chief Real Estate Officer of Islamabad. The endless list of crimes committed by men of this powerful mafia of a certain political persuasion is so long that you might not have the space to print. They kill ruthlessly in order to continue with their plunder. Majority of those involved in this politics of violence and crime hold dual nationalities and are involved in the illegal transfer of billions of rupees to foreign countries. Is this not terrorism? How can you differentiate between this and the acts of terrorism being committed by those from Waziristan? 41 innocent citizens of Pakistan, the majority belonging to a particular ethnicity, have been butchered and this crime most foul is being pushed under the carpet as if it is a trivial issue. The only way to root out terrorism and corruption is to enforce rule of law in Pakistan where everybody is held accountable for the crimes he commits. If this is not done, peace would not come to our cities, nor would the law and order be restored. Nobody should be above the law. People have been murdered and those who have done it must be caught or there would be hell to pay. -NASIR K, Peshawar, February 5.