I usually don’t walk
down the street at night. When I do, I never carry my cell phone and by generous habit, satiate all the lost vagabonds and frolickers seeking directions. Usually I receive a thank you after which we all head our own ways.
At around 9:00 pm on July 2, 2013, I walked down the 26th Street, one of the very main arteries of Defence Phase VI. The excursion to the tandoor was meant to be brief but by the end of it, I just stared down the street in disgust and surprise.
A motorcycle moved towards me, opposite the flow of the traffic. It carried two young boys, the driver barely 15 years to his inception and the not-so-gentleman on the straddle in his early 20s. Our eyes met and I passed by, not at all suspicious, never having been mugged on the 26th Street in my 22 years of existence.
I was past them when they called out to me, “Bhai, could you guide us to Do Darya?” I took a step in their direction and looked down the street, deliberating which path would suit them best. I addressed them, “What I can do for you is…”
I was cut off. The young man who rode straddle repeated my words rather gruffly, “What I can do for you is…” and pointed at a handgun hidden between his legs. An innocuous conversation transmuted into a mugging and they left with my phone and some petty cash. “At least give my sim back,” I shouted to their backs, but they were young, scared and gone into the night. I did report it to the police but did the grave ever bring the dead back?
Three days later, a friend of mine got robbed at the KPT flyover in broad daylight. “The robbers were on a bike,” Ispahani said, “and they used their bike to block my way…eventually switched off my bike so that I didn’t run.” Inspired and challenged, an idea grew in my mind and I decided to experiment with it. I created a group-page on Facebook titled, “The Last Mobile Phone Stolen — Karachi Chapter” and set to work.
The basic aim was to create awareness, let people know that the market they went to visit three hours ago was a crime scene yesterday, and we were now in the business of tagging and identifying mugging hotspots. By hook and by crook, we reached a 1000-member mark and the stories that came forth were very interesting.
Mr A got robbed at a petrol station on Sunset Boulevard whilst filling CNG. I asked again whether he was sure he got robbed at a filling station. Mr A was adamant and stood resolute on his statement. Now who gets robbed at a CNG station? Lack of regulation and control has indeed emboldened these criminals. There once existed a reason why Charles Napier fell in love with Karachi and not Chicago.
Mr B got mugged at the busy and populous parking area of Kehkashan, opposite Gulf Market in Clifton. The snatcher knocked on the car, showed the gun and grabbed the car keys. Then went to ask for the mobile, the wallet and went away in all kindness saying he will throw the keys beneath the nearest billboard. From afar, they were being watched by a police officer who stood his ground and did nothing. To the aggrieved, he seemed to be as numb as the other onlookers around him. Yes. Why ever would a policeman, with a stipend that borders on minimum wage and training that is outdated, risk his life for a common citizen, let alone face a trigger-happy criminal who has no avenue of social mobility when there is chai-pani and Eidi to be collected?
Mr C was the sharpest of them all. He got off the bus on Shahrah-e-Faisal with his remarkable sense of vigilance, knew that something was wrong about the two men who were waving their hands at him. He ran into a park before any pistol was brandished and/or any address asked for, and took the shortest route home. Of course, seconds later the pistol was brandished and the snatcher chased him, but Mr C’s lucky stars did the talking.
Mr D believes that all citizens should carry guns, smile as their mobiles are being stolen and shoot the snatchers as they have their backs turned and are about to flee. He was once severely beaten by a mobile thief in Clifton and I am very sure, if given the gun and the occasion, Mr D would shoot to kill. Mr E and Mr F are a bit more gruesome; they want to burn the thieves alive but just don’t know how to capture them first.
In the year 2005-06, a good 10,000 mobiles a month were robbed in the streets of Karachi. Since then, mobile prices have skyrocketed and the profits of theft have amplified. More and more gangs have joined the business: the environment is favourable and the police do not care. To add, each city has its fair share of dirty cops and some of the profits do flow back into the enforcement personnel’s pockets as well. Allegations? Well, just take a look around.
As more and more comments pore in on my page, a pattern finally emerges: the majority of these thefts take place at night after Maghrib prayers. On almost all occasions, there is an element of surprise and as Major (Retd) Gul narrated in a security orientation, these snatchers pounce on the most unaware. The police and these criminals are a lost cause but stern vigilance and awareness does reduce your chances of getting robbed. If they come by, oblige them, report it on my page and pray for a Naya Pakistan.
Postscript: By God, those Do Darya young men with their almost fake looking gun should have been in school.
The writer is studying at the Lahore University of Management Sciences
and can be reached at [email protected]