LAHORE: Recently, there have been shocking reports of young girls being kidnapped in various parts of Karachi, raped and then released by their abductors.
However, not a single criminal has been arrested or prosecuted, which reveals the state of governance in the city and priority of those who are at the helm of affairs in our financial capital.
In a rare instance when such an attempt was thwarted on March 2 in the Clifton area and the whole incident played out on television screens thanks to CCTV footage, those who attempted to commit this crime have still not been apprehended.
Despite the presence of the CCTV footage, the faces of those involved in the crime have not been publicly displayed, which should have been done to act as deterrence. One wonders whose responsibility it is to put a halt to such crimes.
Is it the city administration, the provincial government, the elected representatives or the numerous security agencies paid for by taxpayers?
For five long years, we have had an elected government but hardly any legislation enacted to effectively prosecute criminals and terrorists because major political stakeholders benefit financially from illegal acts perpetrated by the criminal elements.
On March 3, terrorists launched an attack on the innocent residents of Abbas Town, killing at least 48 people. Those who planned this sectarian hate attack and the ones that took place in Quetta planned and staged them from within these cities and also managed to flee.
Yet, nobody has been apprehended for these crimes. Terrorism can only be curbed if there is a complete crackdown on all criminals, whether they are affiliated with the Taliban, any political party or sectarian cult.
Economic activities come to a standstill when criminals and terrorists are allowed to act with impunity.
One wonders when the administration will start doing its job and save Karachi from this law of the jungle.
Malik Tariq Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, March 8th, 2013.
