Motorbike and carjacking

Crime and commerce very often have a clandestine linkage. A glance at the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) report on the soaring number of motorcycle and carjacking cases makes it quite obvious. Stolen vehicles conveniently find a market, and robbers thrive on by pocketing a lion’s share of the booty. And all this goes on as the law-enforcement agencies apparently remain in a state of inertia. The fact that more than 212 cars and 4,381 motorbikes were snatched or stolen in Karachi in the month of September is pathetic and unacceptable. This simmering crime rate undoubtedly hints at a defeatist attitude on the part of authorities in securing the metropolis.

Karachi, with a populace of around 25 million has for long been a victim of ad hocism, coupled with lawlessness. The liaison body’s testimony that stolen vehicles are easily dismantled for a price in Karachi, and even some of them make their way to the desolate province of Balochistan, and beyond, points out at well-entrenched shadow business circles. Secondly, the crime graph is unrelenting, and has been on the same pitch for quite many months. This is the most disturbing factor for Karachiites who are left at the mercy of gangsters and mafia that literally rule the roost. Many of the automobiles spare-parts markets in Karachi, and upcountry, act as a catalyst for criminals. The fact that there is no lawful monitoring, nor effective response to reports of carjacking makes it more horrendous.

Solutions to this theft trend could be many, but none would be feasible until and unless there is a responsible police force that knows Karachi inside-out. The irony is that police work in tandem with bureaucracy and political governments and are highly compromised. The CPLC in coordination with district administration, police and judiciary should come up with a new tier of probe and prosecution, and the city should be put under 24/7 surveillance. A crackdown on businesses that facilitate sale and purchase of such hardware is indispensable.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21^st, 2021.

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