Fear of death and robbery stares people in the face in Karachi whether they are in the market, in the street or even at home. The level of horror can be gauged from the fact that in less than two months of the new year, 15 persons have been shot dead in the city by street criminals while resisting robberies.
On Feb 18, in the Nazimabad area robbers shot dead a journalist working with a private news channel. Athar Mateen, a senior producer with Samaa TV, lost his life as he was returning home after dropping off his children to their school. This is the nature of crime that has once again become common, as hardly a day passes by without a citizen or two becoming victims of trigger-happy robbers.
While the number of homicides has registered a rapid rise within a short time, many people lost their valuables to robbers. During the period under discussion, more than 4,000 vehicles — cars and motorcycles — have been hijacked, and an equal number of mobile phones have been taken away, at gunpoint.
Karachi’s senior police leadership was recently reshuffled following concerns about rising street crimes. Crimes continue unabated despite frequent postings and reposting of top police officers. Karachi is the largest metropolis of the country and its commercial and industrial hub as well. It has a large police force and a sizable Rangers’ presence too. But unfortunately, both appear to be inadequate to stem the tide of crimes.
The business community of Karachi has also been expressing its concern over growing incidents of street crimes which law-enforcement agencies have remained unsuccessful in dealing with. There is a need to take these crimes seriously and restore the writ of the government.
Citizens wonder why the 2013 Karachi operation failed to curb this form of criminality. This is because dismantling terrorist groups, militant wings, or armed gangs can temporarily reduce specific types of violent crimes. However, street crime is a different challenge linked to broader socioeconomic issues.
There is, of course, a correlation between the galloping inflation, price rise and dwindling job opportunities. This also establishes the old adage: poverty breeds crime. Youths have no employment and more and more of them are joining the ranks of jobless. Desperation is driving them to crime.
Street crimes and similar offences cannot be addressed by security administrators alone. Prevention requires targeting structural problems in a society, such as income inequality, unemployment, class-based discrimination, and a lack of political representation and empowerment of the working class.
The city of Karachi needs a firmer grip on the violence of street crimes, with all political stakeholders coming together on one page to deal with it. The hapless residents of Pakistan’s financial heart deserve no less.
