KARACHI:
Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad is considered the safest city in the country. In a list shared by the deputy commissioner office, Islamabad was ranked as the second safest city in South Asia with a 70.85 safety index. Unfortunately, some recent events have made me doubt these claims, particularly the viral video of a bank van robbery near the I-9 police station and a robbery at my friend’s house in broad daylight in the G-8 sector. Another incident, of mugging, took place near my residence in the H-9 sector. The list of such incidents seems to be continuously growing.
According to a report, street crimes in the federal capital increased rapidly in the first seven months of the year. Fifty-eight incidents of cash snatching and 17 incidents of jewellery snatching were reported within the first half of the year. In addition, 73 incidents of mobile snatching (41 during the same period last year), 19 incidents of car snatching, and 51 incidents of motorcycle snatching, or theft were reported to different police stations of Islamabad. Many of these street crime incidents go unreported, which means that the reality may be grimmer. According to university students in Islamabad, many of them had been mugged at least once.
Besides street crimes, the city has also become dangerous for journalists. The annual press freedom report says 34% of the violations in the country were recorded in the capital city. This, therefore, demonstrates the unsafe conditions of the capital, which the administration claims to be the country’s safest city. The government and city administration must come out of their complacency and take immediate steps for maintaining law and order in the capital city to ensure the protection of life and property of the citizens.
Babar Ali
Islamabad
Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2021.
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