There used to be a time when people hurried to get to their houses before darkness descended on the streets of the largest city in Pakistan. Fear of criminals prompted the wealthy to hire armed protection and the common man to rely on divine protection. However, it is one thing for the conventional wisdom to acknowledge the presence of criminal syndicates and a different twisted game altogether for those sitting in key positions to wave the flag of despair. Sindh’s caretaker home minister might have taken a leap of naivety when he advised people of Karachi to keep their cell phones in “places where they can’t get stolen,” but such foot-in-the-mouth moments do not sit well with the masses. No matter how temporary of a setup he may be a part of, an honourable minister represents the writ of the state and the law of the land and therefore, should proverbially think twice before engaging with the press on such sensitive matters. Ironically hilarity aside, the authorities would have to step up to deliver on their oft-made lofty promises to get tough on perpetrators. The last few months have been extraordinarily heart-wrenching where stories upon stories of young students killed for having resisted mobile snatchers. With as many as 44 Karachiites murdered by robbers in the first five months and repeated requests by none other than the Sindh police chief for the installation of CCTV cameras in residential areas, one cannot help but wonder would the law enforcement bodies ever find the determination to deliver in this sprawling city? If not sandwiched between measly resources and unbelievable ease of access to firearms, some police officers try to create headlines for themselves using “half fry” and “full fry” methods. The scanty number of criminals they actually manage to apprehend enjoy a short ride behind bars, thanks to shoddy persecution and glaring loopholes in the legal framework. Karachi is screaming for attention but those at the helm of the affairs are far too busy in bizarre gimmicks. Weeding out black sheep, strengthening civil institutions and discouraging the menace of mob justice are some of the ways in which sanity and security can return to the streets of the thriving metropolis. *