The spate of sectarian killings in Karachi has adversely affected the already precarious law and order situation there. Five people belonging to the Shia community were gunned down by armed gunmen on Monday. An immediate backlash was witnessed as six individuals belonging to Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, a Sunni sectarian group, were assassinated the next day in different areas of Karachi. Karachi’s police chief Shahid Hayat termed these incidents as being part of a conspiracy to stoke sectarian violence ahead of the start of Muharram, which is a sacred time of the year for Shias. Hayat also claimed that the shooters behind these killings had been identified and will be arrested in a couple of days. Only time will tell whether his claim proves true or not. However, one thing is sure and that is the fact that the performance of the security agencies throughout the country and especially in Karachi, will be put to the test in the coming days. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP’s) leader Hakeemullah Mehsud’s assassination by a US drone strike is a bad omen as the TTP is expected to intensify its attacks against the Pakistani state and people. Moreover, there seems to be a nexus between sectarian groups and banned militant groups such as the TTP, due to which it is increasingly becoming difficult to make a distinction between them. Sectarian violence is nothing new in Pakistan as such incidents have occurred in the past in which members of specific communities are targeted, especially in holy months of the Islamic calendar. However, this time around such violence might escalate into something bigger due to a combination of factors such as the TTP threat and the ongoing operation in Karachi, whose efficacy is being brought into question due to a recent surge of violence in the city despite the daily claims by the security forces of arresting law breakers. Fearing further violence and bloodshed, the provinces of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have imposed section 144, which gives provincial governments the authority to act preventively through measures such as restrictions on public assembly, for the duration of Muharram. This is already in place in Karachi. The honeymoon period of the federal government is long over and so far its actions have been reactive instead of proactive. While there has been much talk about formulating a national security policy, there has been no visible progress in this regard. The government needs to devise a viable plan to deal with different kinds of criminals. For that purpose, it needs to make a clear distinction between counterinsurgency and counterterrorism. While the former is undertaken by the military to tackle militants in the tribal areas, the latter has to be performed by the law enforcement agencies in urban centres such as Karachi. Steps should be taken to better equip the police and Rangers and enhance their intelligence capabilities through better coordination and intelligence sharing. The federal government needs to follow through with its plans to strengthen the law enforcement agencies. Thus far, the formation of a special counter-terrorism force has been announced and the Anti-Terrorism Act has been modified to strengthen the security agencies’ hands. However, the menace of crime and terrorism in Pakistan cannot be curbed until the law enforcing agencies conduct intelligence-driven campaigns in order to pre-empt criminals and terrorists before they actually take act. Pakistan is entering a new phase of uncertainty as the TTP has called off the possibilities of talks and are seeking vengeance for the assassination of their leader. Moreover, TTP’s nexus with sectarian groups in Pakistan might compound problems for the Pakistani state and society. In such a tumultuous climate, establishing peace in Karachi and in other parts of the country will be doubly difficult. *