KARACHI:
For the last few months, it has been rumoured that the top leadership in Sindh has directed public sector departments to collect certain amounts of money each month based on the capacity and nature of the income the department can generate. Some have alleged that district police departments are required to generate at least Rs10 million monthly to pay different sums of money to political leaders, ministers, and local chiefs.
Initially, I thought these were baseless allegations and an attempt to malign PPP to discourage people from democratic leadership. However, on 1st May, three motorbikes were stolen within 2 hours from our street. Two of the victims were my son and nephew. After the incident, we rushed to the police station to lodge a complaint, but the officer refused to register our complaint until other officials arrived the next day. He told us the police did not have a team to trace the criminals at the time. The next day, we informed the police that we had seen the robbers, but initially, the police refused to take us seriously. Almost an hour later, the police came to the location but did not open fire at the robbers. Thereafter, the robbers escaped and sought refuge somewhere within Johi.
This entire episode has led me to believe that perhaps the rumours are true otherwise the police would have caught the criminals by now and recovered the motorbikes. If the police are required to meet those targets, they are bound to engage in corrupt practices including accepting bribery. The public is living in a fool’s paradise believing that the police are their guardians and will protect them against crime, but lawlessness seems to be the new normal in Sindh.
Gulsher Panhwer
Johi
Published in The Express Tribune, May 5th, 2023.
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