“Recent developments, such as the tussle between the PAC and the PPP in Lyari, the showdown between the MQM and Muhammad Khan in Altaf Nagar or the eviction of the ANP from its former strongholds at the hands of the Taliban unequivocally demonstrated that mainstream political parties have lost some ground to a new breed of de facto sovereigns in several parts of the city. A growing number of stakeholders, all of whom have formidable economic and military resources, are determined to defend their sense of entitlement to the city.”