Fears are growing that bloodshed and brutality could return to the Pakistani city of Karachi, which was blighted by violence throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

The concern is that the Taliban are increasing their influence in the city and establishing a presence outside of their traditional stronghold in the north-west of the country.

If that is indeed the case, it will have dire implications for a government and military already struggling to contain militancy in the north.

It is not hard to find evidence of the Taliban in Pakistan's commercial capital and only port.