KARACHI: A staffer with The Express Tribune and at least 40 others were robbed at the T2F cafe and peaceniche in DHA on Sunday evening when four men stormed the not-for-profit NGO.
Two of the robbers were armed and they came on motorcycles.
According to the cafe staff, the men pretended to be visitors at the cafe’s ongoing art exhibition "Loot Maar" and took out their pistols nearly five minutes after arriving.
They looted laptops, phones, cash, cameras, wallets and cash worth Rs70,000 collected from the art exhibition. Witnesses to the robbery said the robbers were clean-shaven and spoke in Urdu but said “Thank you guys” in English on their way out.
There were no private security guards in place at the cafe because till now T2F has been run on an open-door policy to maintain an environment of openness, said Sabeen Mahmud, Director, peaceniche. Mahmud added that she felt that guards were ineffective, and T2F was not meant to be a public space where people are checked.
The Clifton SP, Tariq Dharejo, said they were not aware the exhibition was ongoing or they would have sent police officers to patrol the area.
A complaint has been registered and the police has assured that the suspects will be arrested.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2011.
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