(Image source: Los Angeles Times)

BY: ALEJANDRA QUINTELA

Violence in Karachi escalates -- police have orders to shoot anyone with a gun on sight.
Those orders come after Pakistan´s largest city saw at least 80 people killed in the last four days by armed marauders. BBC reports --

“Parts of Pakistan´s biggest city are essentially on the curfew. There have been several days of intense gunfight in Western neighborhoods in Karachi as clashes between rival political groups escalate. Frightened residents have been caught in the crossfire." 

The Financial Times reports -- the killing has been carried out by organized-crime gangs related to rival political parties:  the Muttahida Qaumi Movement -- or MQM -- and Awami National Party or ANP.  General Secretary of Shehri, which campaigns for better urban planning, Amber Alibhai agrees.

“Every time something happens on the political level, immediately the city starts burning... The first fear when MQM left the coalition was that Karachi is going to disintegrate into violence." 

MQM leader Raza Haroon denies the ongoing violence stems from the rivalry between his party and the ANP.

“The government or police cannot relieve themselves from their responsibility by saying that this is a fight between two parties or groups...It´s the responsibility of the government and security forces to find out who these people are and what their objectives are." (LATimes)

The International Business Times reports--  Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Pakistan government will dispatch an extra 1,000 paramilitary troops to protect the city.

“We know which forces are behind these killings. We have satellite records of the areas where terrorists are killing innocent people...These militants are no lesser evil than the Taliban. They are killing people to destabilize the democratic system”.

Meanwhile, thousands of people are still trapped in their houses running out of food and water. A resident from the Orangi neighborhood, spoke to the Herald Sun.

 "The walls of my house are riddled with bullets. Many of our household items have been destroyed. Most of [the] time, we duck inside the house to save ourselves from frequent volleys of bullets."

US ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter has called on all parties to work toward a peaceful resolution (Herald Sun).

Transcript by Newsy.