AP Photo

 

On the late afternoon of Wednesday April 29, I went to interview a local leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party in Karachi, and spent a couple of hours at their headquarters. From there, I went on to Zeinab market to look for presents for my family, and spent another couple of hours haggling over textiles and looking for a new suitcase. Then back to my hotel, where I had a shower and a bite to eat, called my wife, and contemplated going out for a drink with some friends (yes, Karachi is officially dry, but you wouldn't always know it).

I thought I'd better check if anything was happening, and turned on the television"”to discover that over the previous few hours thirty-two people had been killed in shootings and gun battles between two ethnic groups...