Targeted killings in Pakistan

Targeted killings in Pakistan (Urdu: نشانی قاتلوں or ہدفی ہلاکتوں) have been a rising form of violence and have contributed to security instability in the country.

Ethnic politics have resulted in sporadic violence throughout Karachi's history, often leading to bloody conflicts.

The Pashtuns (Pakhtuns or Pathans), originally from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA and northern Balochistan, are now the city's second largest ethnic group in Karachi after Muhajirs.

[5] Religious minorities often face violence and target killing in Pakistan, even though the country's Constitution guarantees them equal rights and the freedom to practice their faith.

Added to this were Iranians, Arabs, Central Asians as well as thousands of Afghan refugees who came to Karachi, initially displaced by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan; some of the Afghan and Pashtun migration brought along conservative tribal culture, further intensifying ethnic and sectarian violence and also giving rise to mob culture.