An estimated 1,685 people have been killed in separate incidents of target killings in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi since the beginning of operation against militants in September last year, officials said Friday.
A spokesman of the Karachi police shared a report with media on Friday, saying that 49 bomb blasts had taken place in Karachi during the last ten months.
Moreover, 84 kidnappings for ransom and 1,181 cases of extortion took place during this period, said the spokesman.
He said that 1,480 incidents of street crime had occurred in the city since the beginning of the operation.
Targeted operations led by Rangers' forces with the support of police are ongoing in the city under a directive issued by the federal government against criminals.
In a statement on July 2, the Karachi police said that more than 40 groups of banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan are active in the city.
The militant groups are allegedly involved in extortion of one to two billion rupees daily, target killings, kidnapping for ransom and other terrorist activities in the city, said the report.
The ongoing operation has brought mixed results, as the police and paramilitary troops have arrested thousands of militants and killed hundreds of them in encounters, yet extortion mafia is still active in the city and the incidents of target killings could not be brought under control.
The statement came a day after the country's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited Karachi and held meetings with officers from paramilitary troops and police to discuss law and order situation of the city.
During the meeting, the prime minister directed concerned officials to speed up the operation and show determination to continue it till its logical conclusion.