Karachi is well on its becoming Pakistan’s crime capital once again. Those who believed that the forces of terror ruling the anarchic metropolis had given a final bow during the last several years of relative peace have been in for a disturbing surprise. With an elderly expatriate (ironically, back at home after 40 years) and a teenager gunned down on the streets on Monday, the plague is far from over.
The last few weeks were tainted by a ruthless killing of senior journalist Athar Mateen and a seemingly endless list of security guards among other managerial staff succumbing to robbery bids. More worrisome has been the staggering rise in incidents of mobile phones (3,845), motorcycles (672) and cars (20) snatched away from Karachi residents in the first six weeks of 2022. Many of these unfortunate episodes result in precious lives being taken away, but the storm whipped up on social media has till now done little but to garner a string of buzzwords from the power quarters.
Poor governance has been the city’s ugliest secret for far too long now, and simply wishing for a Karachi free of street crimes might not cast the magic spell, Mr Chief Minister. Instead of weaving twisted stories about political patronage, the top brass should dedicate efforts to striking at the entire policing system. Calling for an umpteenth Rangers operation is a superficial solution that would do little to push the genie back into the bottle.
Yes, their deployment very dedicatedly–and repeatedly–freed the port city of the wrath of innumerable gang wars, yet at the end of the day, it is the responsibility of the regular units of Sindh Police to deliver foolproof security to each and every citizen in their jurisdiction. Enjoying the thrill of robberies as a silent spectator (the most notable of which stripped over a hundred Karachiites of their valuables) does not, under any circumstances, form a part of the “Proud to Serve” manifesto. *