Targeted Killings in Karachi

Targeted Killings in Karachi

General News, second prize stories

September 8, 2010

Karachi, Pakistan Kachkol Khan, a local leader of the largely Pashtun Awami National Party (ANP), with his security guards, at home in Karachi. The number of targeted shootings in the Karachi area of Pakistan escalated in 2010, with over 1,100 violent deaths recorded by October. The cause of the killings remains obscure, but it appears to be a mix of political, religious and criminal violence. Some observers blame rivalry between parties that have their electoral bases in different ethnic groups in the city. Others say the violence is linked to criminal gangs, allegedly controlled by major political parties. Some killings appear directly politically motivated, reactions to the assassination of political figures. Sectarian conflict between Shia and Sunni Muslim communities has also been blamed. Massimo Berruti speaks about the project: "These photos were taken before and after the devastating floods hit Pakistan in August 2010. The idea to cover this story came into my mind after reading in the press about the daily bleeding of this city, an economic hub of Pakistan, involved in this huge fight for dominance. I was reminded by the incidents of the mafia war that took place in my country in the early '80s of the past century. In the reports there was only incomplete information, there was no awareness or knowledge of what the situation was really about. You could get out in the middle of the night with the idea to cover protesters while burning buses and then find yourself in the middle of a shooting. There was a mother so shocked that she was unable to cry at the loss of her son, banned political groups storming into hospitals and once two journalists were assassinated on the road in front of my hotel. People are suffering and paying a tremendous price for this fight within, a spiral of violence which points the finger at local and central government."

Location: Karachi, Pakistan

Photo Credit: Massimo Berruti

Massimo Berruti was born in Rome in 1979 and became interested in documentary photography for the first time in 2003, while he was at university. He left university in 2004 and took part in a collective project on the cultural and industrial crisis in Italy. This led to the book Made in Italy, published in 2006. In 2007 he was one of the 20 photographers worldwide selected by the Italian Ministry of Artistic/Cultural Heritage and Activities for a reportage on the status of the Italian heritage and landscapes. Since 2008, he has worked in central Asia, focusing on the changing society in Pakistan. His work has appeared in major Italian and international publications, such as l'Espresso, Vanity Fair, Internazionale, Paris Match, Le Monde2, The Independent, Time, Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal. Berruti was a member of the 2008 Joop Swart Masterclass, and won a World Press Photo award in 2007. Other honors include two POYi prizes, a Visa D'Or Young Reporter Award in 2009 and two IPA (International Photography Awards). His work has appeared in exhibitions at Lumix, Visa Pour l'Image and Noorderlicht, among others. From 2005 to 2009, Berruti was represented by the Grazia Neri Photo Agency and in 2008 joined Agence Vu as a member photographer.