0:00:05 > 0:00:09Pakistan, a nation under siege.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15Almost every day, in towns and cities across the country,
0:00:15 > 0:00:17the Taliban attack.
0:00:21 > 0:00:26Bombings, assassinations, kidnappings.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Even schools have been a target.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40Pakistanis are paying with their lives.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50Entire districts of the country's largest city, Karachi,
0:00:50 > 0:00:52have been infiltrated by the Taliban.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56The last line of defence,
0:00:56 > 0:01:00a police force that was never intended to fight terrorism.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15They're fighting an enemy intent on destroying anyone
0:01:15 > 0:01:18that gets in the way of their jihad or holy war.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32We follow the so-called Taliban hunters,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36the men who risk their lives every day on the front line.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Almost 24 million people live in Karachi.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05It's Pakistan's commercial centre
0:02:05 > 0:02:08and one of the largest cities in the world.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12But it's also become one of the most dangerous cities.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17I've been reporting from here for over ten years, and I've seen how
0:02:17 > 0:02:21the escalation of terrorist violence is threatening the whole city.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26Now I want to see how the police are responding.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31I arrived in Karachi this morning
0:02:31 > 0:02:35and already there's been news of a police officer murdered
0:02:35 > 0:02:36in a suspected Taliban attack.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Mohammed Iqbal had been receiving death threats from militants.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44He was gunned down in a drive-by shooting
0:02:44 > 0:02:47just before dawn at the end of a 14-hour shift.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54With so many police here, the funeral prayers themselves are a target.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18The fightback is led by the police,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21who've become known as the Taliban hunters.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25With a force of just 15,000 officers,
0:03:25 > 0:03:29they police a city of 24 million people.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35And they've lost 156 of their colleagues in just one year
0:03:35 > 0:03:38in the fight against the Taliban.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47Specialist Superintendent Ijaz heads this branch of the Taliban hunters
0:03:47 > 0:03:51and plans anti-terrorist raids from his base in central Karachi.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56His team monitor militant activity
0:03:56 > 0:03:59across the city from this surveillance centre.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05Could you point out the areas where the Taliban has a strong presence?
0:04:05 > 0:04:09Urangi, Baldir, Saeedabad, these areas,
0:04:09 > 0:04:13then we have Surjani, we have Sarabghot area,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17so basically the slums are encircling the city.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20And these slums, they are very dangerous.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27It's from the slums that the Taliban organise their attacks.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Officer Ijaz shows me shocking footage
0:04:30 > 0:04:33of the Taliban's campaign of terror.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41These indiscriminate violent attacks keep Karachi's citizens
0:04:41 > 0:04:44living in a constant state of fear.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49But it's target killings or assassinations
0:04:49 > 0:04:52that are the Taliban's most common tool of terror,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55with almost 200 reported last year.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02Here, the officer shows me CCTV footage of two Shia preachers
0:05:02 > 0:05:05being gunned down by Taliban members on motorbikes.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09Police, journalists
0:05:09 > 0:05:13and anyone opposing Taliban ideology is a potential target.
0:05:16 > 0:05:21Another attack. This gunman strikes and drives away unchallenged.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27On average, ten people die from violence in Karachi every day,
0:05:27 > 0:05:30many of them at the hands of the Taliban.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35Yet Ijaz's men are ill-equipped to fight an enemy with growing power.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39They are fighting a full-fledged war.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43So they are not equipped and they are not trained for it yet.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45They were trained for traditional policing,
0:05:45 > 0:05:48but it is not traditional policing. They are fighting terrorism.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54Inadequate funding means the Taliban hunters on the ground
0:05:54 > 0:05:58have no special training and lack basic equipment.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00Many officers carry ageing weapons
0:06:00 > 0:06:05and others work sometimes without essentials, like bulletproof vests.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12Ahmed Rashid is one of Pakistan's most respected experts on militancy.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18He lectures on terrorism at universities around the world.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21First of all, there are far too few policemen in a city
0:06:21 > 0:06:24like Karachi to deal with the situation.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26You know, the numbers are appalling.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30The police is hugely underfunded, underpaid,
0:06:30 > 0:06:36lacking proper education, equipment. I mean, it's very, very sad.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41It's estimated that robberies cost Karachi
0:06:41 > 0:06:43millions of dollars every day.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46The Taliban is behind much of this,
0:06:46 > 0:06:50having forced previously powerful organised gangs
0:06:50 > 0:06:51out of their territory.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Are the Taliban using Karachi as a kind of cash cow?
0:06:57 > 0:07:01With kidnapping, crime, bank robberies, fundraising,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04they carried on their Taliban activity in Karachi.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14The Taliban hunters have been tipped off
0:07:14 > 0:07:17about two suspected militants thought to be planning an attack.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48They've been planning this raid for four weeks.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53From the moment they leave their compound,
0:07:53 > 0:07:57they know they're vulnerable to Taliban lookouts and informants.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18The Pakistani Taliban or TTP,
0:08:18 > 0:08:22have taken control of much of the territory
0:08:22 > 0:08:25on the outskirts of Karachi in recent years.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28The team is heading into one of the most notorious slums,
0:08:28 > 0:08:32Ittehad town, a TTP strong hold.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57As we enter Ittehad town in the early hours of the morning,
0:08:57 > 0:09:00the streets are empty.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03The final approach towards the target house has to be on foot.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25The lights are turned off and the team creep forward
0:09:25 > 0:09:27with a night-vision camera.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Taliban watchmen have been known to sound an alarm
0:09:35 > 0:09:38as a call to arms for local comrades,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41who then flood the area to attack police.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51If spotted, the team will only have moments to leave the area.
0:09:55 > 0:10:00No-one knows how many Talibs are inside and who could be watching.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11With everyone in place, Officer Ijaz gives the signal.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26GUNSHOT
0:10:26 > 0:10:28The suspects open fire.
0:10:30 > 0:10:31GUNSHOT
0:10:31 > 0:10:33SHOUTING
0:10:44 > 0:10:46GUNSHOT
0:10:47 > 0:10:51SHOUTING
0:11:13 > 0:11:16The men are disarmed, their weapons seized.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25The priority now is getting out of the slum.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28ALARM RINGS
0:11:41 > 0:11:45As soon as we got in there, there was the sound of a kind of an alarm
0:11:45 > 0:11:48and a few of the officers told me
0:11:48 > 0:11:50that these Taliban members sound the alarm
0:11:50 > 0:11:52to tell people in the area that the police are here.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54That's why we have to make a quick exit right now.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56We have to get out of the area.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07Sometimes there is resistance from the local public.
0:12:07 > 0:12:08We've managed well.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12We were very brief and very quick. So that ended well.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16- It could have got really dangerous if we'd stayed any longer?- Yes, exactly.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18Going into the area, that's not dangerous.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22Leaving the area is always full of...risks.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25Because then they are alarmed, everybody knows.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27They might try to ambush the motorcade
0:12:27 > 0:12:30if those guys are really important for them.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33They will try to get them released from police custody.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55The squad believe the suspects were in the final stages of planning
0:12:55 > 0:12:59to kidnap a prominent businessman, who they'd been shadowing in Karachi.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17They'll be left in their cells for the next five days.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21Officer Ijaz says the silence makes prisoners more eager to talk.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29But with every arrest comes the renewed risk of a revenge attack.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35A regular visit to the graveside of his former boss
0:13:35 > 0:13:39provides a stark reminder that even the most senior officer
0:13:39 > 0:13:41can be killed by the Taliban.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46He was a hero and he was a hero of Karachi police,
0:13:46 > 0:13:51and as far as the dangers or risks or hazards of this job
0:13:51 > 0:13:54are concerned, myself, my fellow colleagues,
0:13:54 > 0:13:59they are working day in and day out to eradicate this terrorism.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04Officer Ijaz had been a close friend.
0:14:04 > 0:14:05After the murder,
0:14:05 > 0:14:09it was he who became the new face of the Taliban hunters.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15He's a prominent target, and the Taliban can strike at any time.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19On constant watch is Officer Akbar,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22who sees it as his personal duty to keep the boss alive.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46In the five years he's been in the force,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Akbar has got used to the threat from the Taliban.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14For over a decade, the Taliban
0:15:14 > 0:15:19and its affiliate groups have waged war on the Pakistani people.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23But until recently,
0:15:23 > 0:15:27the militants were largely based in rural areas in the north.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36Last summer, the government began its most far-reaching
0:15:36 > 0:15:39anti-Taliban operation to date,
0:15:39 > 0:15:44the army forcing them out of their stronghold in North Waziristan.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49By the spring of 2015, the government was claiming victory,
0:15:49 > 0:15:54but the military campaign had simply shifted the geography of war.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59The movement of terrorists southwards meant that Pakistan cities
0:15:59 > 0:16:02were the Taliban's major targets,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05with Karachi the greatest prize of all.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10The Taliban suspects captured in the raid have now been
0:16:10 > 0:16:12held in silence for two days.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18Whenever they are in police custody, within 24 hours or 48 hours,
0:16:18 > 0:16:20they lose their psychological strength.
0:16:20 > 0:16:25Karachi police have been accused of physical mistreatment
0:16:25 > 0:16:28and even torture of prisoners.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30A 2014 Human Rights Watch report
0:16:30 > 0:16:33also said there had been extra-judicial killings
0:16:33 > 0:16:36and mystery disappearances of terrorist suspects.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43But Officer Ijaz insists that his men employ nothing more than,
0:16:43 > 0:16:47as he puts it, a little arm-twisting.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50But is it an effective method of extracting information,
0:16:50 > 0:16:51as you put it, "arm-twisting"?
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Can you get reliable evidence that way?
0:16:54 > 0:16:56You must understand this.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01They are hardened criminals, they are hard-core extremists.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03You cannot offer them a bouquet,
0:17:03 > 0:17:07you cannot offer them a chocolate to get information out of them.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11It's clear to me that there's some indifference
0:17:11 > 0:17:13to the human rights of suspects here.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20Perhaps a response to the constant threat of revenge attacks
0:17:20 > 0:17:22against the police and their families.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32Officer Ijaz is one of the Taliban's top targets.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35The family home must be guarded 24 hours a day.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42You have armed guards outside,
0:17:42 > 0:17:45so your kids must see these armed men with guns.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Are they aware of the work that you do?
0:17:48 > 0:17:49Yeah, they are aware of the work,
0:17:49 > 0:17:53like they know that I'm a police officer.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56From the day, when they were born, they were living with these gunmen,
0:17:56 > 0:17:58so they can't tell me the difference.
0:18:00 > 0:18:01But the constant danger to their children
0:18:01 > 0:18:05is forcing his wife to reconsider their future.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09We are seriously thinking to leave this Karachi place.
0:18:09 > 0:18:15If Ijaz is not leaving it, at least I would be thinking to leave it
0:18:15 > 0:18:19within six to seven months because it's pretty unsafe for me.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21So, basically, Officer Ijaz would stay working here
0:18:21 > 0:18:24- and you'd move to another city? - Yeah, probably, probably.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30It's not only police and their families that are targets.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Business owners, politicians,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35in fact, anyone with obvious wealth is at risk.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42This video was sent to the family of a local businessman.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46Karim - not his real name - was kidnapped by the Taliban.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49He was ultimately rescued from his kidnappers,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52but his family have asked that we conceal his identity.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11It was just another morning in Karachi's business district,
0:19:11 > 0:19:14but on this day, the Taliban lay in wait.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18Here, if you can see, this is the white Corolla, this is arriving,
0:19:18 > 0:19:20this is the factory gate.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24- OK, so, he's arriving for work?- He is arriving. This was in the morning.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26These two guys were standing here.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28And as soon as he stopped the car,
0:19:28 > 0:19:32there is one guy towards the driving seat.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35This guy snatched the keys from the driver.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38And as soon as they drag him out,
0:19:38 > 0:19:41they placed him inside the car and sped away.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00After a month in captivity, Karim was freed during a police shoot out.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04His kidnappers are still awaiting trial.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13The latest available statistics
0:20:13 > 0:20:19show that 132 cases of kidnapping were reported in Karachi in 2014.
0:20:19 > 0:20:24With an estimated 4 million handed over in ransom money to the Taliban.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30The kidnappers have little to fear from the courts,
0:20:30 > 0:20:32even if they're charged.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34Recently released figures show that,
0:20:34 > 0:20:38of 115 cases of kidnap over a 12-month period,
0:20:38 > 0:20:40there wasn't a single conviction.
0:20:43 > 0:20:48At the time of filming, of 286 suspected Taliban members
0:20:48 > 0:20:51behind bars in the city's main prison,
0:20:51 > 0:20:53just three had been convicted.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00I think the reason that the judiciary has really failed
0:21:00 > 0:21:05over these last ten years is because they're scared.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07I mean, we have had numerous lawyers, judges,
0:21:07 > 0:21:12defence counsels, witnesses being killed by the militants,
0:21:12 > 0:21:16so you get kidnappings taking place, shootings taking place,
0:21:16 > 0:21:19and generally I think there is an air of terror.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24At his office in Karachi, Provincial Minister Sharjeel Memon
0:21:24 > 0:21:28admits the current legal system is failing.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34Our present judicial system is too slow and the way the cases are...
0:21:34 > 0:21:38linger on for years and years.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44Attacks in major cities have meant mounting pressure for reform.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47The government's response
0:21:47 > 0:21:50has been the introduction of anti-terrorism courts,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53with the aim of fast-tracking trials.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58We have formed military courts.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01For those terrorists from Taliban, Al-Qaeda...
0:22:01 > 0:22:05Are you aware of the conviction rates within those courts?
0:22:05 > 0:22:09I think that there is some betterment in the system.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11There is an improvement, but actually they are under 6%.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15It's under 6% conviction rate. Is that acceptable?
0:22:15 > 0:22:19Obviously, these special courts formed one year ago
0:22:19 > 0:22:21and things need to...
0:22:21 > 0:22:25We want to bring a change, so it needs some time.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29The justice system was thrust into the spotlight
0:22:29 > 0:22:32after last year's attack on a school in Peshawar.
0:22:32 > 0:22:37133 children were killed in the massacre at the Army Public School.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Peace rallies were held in every Pakistani town,
0:22:41 > 0:22:46with the public demanding that more be done to stop the terror.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50In response, the government lifted the moratorium on the death penalty,
0:22:50 > 0:22:51but little else has changed.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57Nothing since the Peshawar killings of those students has been done
0:22:57 > 0:23:03to actually reform, strengthen, modify the judicial system.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07We've had a lot of Draconian laws passed, that you will be hanged
0:23:07 > 0:23:09for terrorism on the slightest suspicion,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13that you're guilty until you can prove you are innocent.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17But we have - I mean, you know, these are Draconian laws that have
0:23:17 > 0:23:20nothing to do with reforming the judicial system.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27I'm on my way back to the police compound.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30I've heard there have been more raids today
0:23:30 > 0:23:33and five militants have been shot in a gun battle.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38We discover there've been some more arrests, too.
0:23:41 > 0:23:42WAILING
0:23:52 > 0:23:55I got to the compound about ten minutes ago
0:23:55 > 0:23:56and, as soon as I got here,
0:23:56 > 0:24:00I could hear screaming from the interrogation area down there.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04You can see two suspects that are up against the wall right now.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08Every time I've asked Officer Ijaz about what he calls "arm-twisting",
0:24:08 > 0:24:10he's avoided the question.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14I'm told I can talk to the two Taliban suspects
0:24:14 > 0:24:17who were arrested on the raid two days earlier.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22The police insisted on parading them into the room
0:24:22 > 0:24:24with their heads covered.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27They require me to conduct my interview
0:24:27 > 0:24:30with the suspects' identities concealed.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34They say it's for the prisoners' safety, as well as their own.
0:24:34 > 0:24:35I have no way of knowing
0:24:35 > 0:24:38how the suspects have been treated by the police.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41They tell me they are proud Taliban members
0:24:41 > 0:24:43and they're apparently eager to talk.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09I need to ask you something, Officer Ijaz.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11When I arrived at the compound,
0:26:11 > 0:26:16I did hear some screaming from one of the interrogation rooms.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18You've told me in the past, you've referenced
0:26:18 > 0:26:21this kind of arm-twisting techniques that you use.
0:26:21 > 0:26:22What techniques do you use?
0:26:25 > 0:26:27We don't do this.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30Because... Not exactly.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Torture is not a solution to the problem, actually.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35We can... We can...
0:26:35 > 0:26:40If we... If at all we beat them, we can get whatever we want to.
0:26:40 > 0:26:41But that is not true.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45Basically, we try to a little bit pressurise them or...
0:26:45 > 0:26:47they are hardened criminals,
0:26:47 > 0:26:51sometimes we threaten them of dire consequences.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54We have to ask them in a harsh manner, obviously.
0:26:56 > 0:27:01Officer Ijaz's uncomfortable response may be open to interpretation.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05But it's clear he's frustrated by a judicial system
0:27:05 > 0:27:09that results in very few convictions for terrorism.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12Despite their claim of multiple murders,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15these suspects may never face trial.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22The threat from militants is now the single most pressing issue
0:27:22 > 0:27:25for Pakistanis struggling to maintain some sense of normality
0:27:25 > 0:27:27in their daily lives.
0:27:27 > 0:27:32A paramilitary force, the rangers, have now joined the fightback
0:27:32 > 0:27:35but, just last month, two police officers were killed
0:27:35 > 0:27:38during an anti-terrorist shoot out.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43Pakistan remain vulnerable to the Taliban, who are ever-willing
0:27:43 > 0:27:48to take their war into Pakistan's cities, airports and schools.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51Police alone cannot do this job.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55If we are strong enough, we will just wipe them out from Karachi
0:27:55 > 0:27:58and then there will be no threat to police officers.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00Obviously, we feel vulnerable sometimes,
0:28:00 > 0:28:01but that's not the point.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04We have to fight it. There is no other way.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07We just can't leave the battlefield and run away.