Human rights agencies in Pakistan are reporting that more that 1,100 people have been murdered in the southern city of Karachi in the first 6 months of 2011, matching the drug war casualties that have been seen in Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez during the same period. The violence does not appear to be abating…on Tuesday, over 20 people were killed across the Pakistani economic capital, which forced police and paramilitary forces to impose a ban on passengers riding on motorbikes.

While Karachi is bracing for more violence, authorities in Mexico have been reporting that homicides and violence in Ciudad Juarez have been declining throughout the year. The border city seems to be steadily emerging from the wave of violence that has gripped it since 2008, leaving more than 3,000 dead in 2010 alone.