There’s just no end to distressing episodes in this forsaken land where intolerance reigns supreme and law languishes in some corner. In a fit of rage, a security guard pointed the barrel of a Kalashnikov towards a young man and opened fire as he was making a TikTok video in Karachi. Notwithstanding the privacy debate and how these social media applications have emerged as the antithesis of the fundamental right to personal space, no crime warrants such an extreme response. By becoming a law unto himself, the culprit has, once again, pointed to a rather troubling reality: more and more people believe they do not need to approach the state to sort out their grievances. One small bullet is all it takes to let out the steam, or even better, brand whosoever they may wish with a target and let the mob rampage take care of the rest. Hours later in the same city, an angry mob lynched a man to death as he was attempting to loot a citizen at gunpoint. If the masses are to be believed, they are in no position to lose whatever is left of their valuable savings to the organised racket of street criminals mocking the writ of land in Karachi. Considering how they’ve been demanding a grand operation to restore peace in the country’s largest city, should they be blamed for losing all hope in the capacity of the city administration and fighting their battle themselves? For now, the Sindh Government appears complacent with imposing a three-month ban on the brandishing of firearms (even, licensed) in public spaces. In essence, the administration strives to work on an analogy often attributed to renowned storyteller Anton Chekhov and remove the “loaded rifle” from the sight altogether. But while this would play a significant role in reducing the instances of rage-driven violence, how do they plan to appease the distress caused by the visible shortcomings of the law enforcement agencies? Isn’t it high time that those in power try to sort out their own house in addition to expecting the people to abide by the rules? *