Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has ruled out deploying the army in Karachi to tackle rising violence.
Sharif was speaking after chairing a cabinet meeting in Karachi to discuss the breakdown in law and order there.
According to the BBC, he said the government was considering using the Pakistan Rangers paramilitary force against criminals in Karachi.
Extortion, kidnappings for ransom, and drive-by shootings are on the rise in the commercial capital, which generates much of Pakistan's national revenue, the report added.