From economic hub to crime hotspot
Law seems to be getting weaker in the face of crime, business community leaders said Monday adding, if the current state of street crime and robberies persists the economic hub of Pakistan will become a lawless city run by gangs and mafias.
Sindh Industrial and Trading Estate (SITE) Association of Industry President Abdul Rasheed said that industrial workers are afraid to work in night shifts for fear of muggers. Even in the day, workers find it hard to make it to home with their wages. Rasheed said it seems that the writ of law has waned.
A representative body of traders, All Karachi Tajir Ittehad Chairman Atiq Mir demanded from the Sindh government to ensure the measures for maintaining peace with the consultation of all stakeholders on an emergency basis.
If the situation of robberies, thefts, snatchings and murders persists, Karachi will become a crime hotspot rather than economic hub.
He said that Sindh government's failure to control crime will adversely affect commercial activities, which will increase unemployment pushing more people to adopt street crime as source of income. Atiq Mir suggested starting a joint operation by assigning special powers to the police and Rangers as in the past.
Anjuman-e-Tajiran Karachi President Javed Shams said that the city's small traders are already facing the brunt of brutal tax policies, slow business activity and runaway, were target of of increasing street crime.
Shams said that criminal elements were targeting commercial centers, snatching cash from people depositing or withdrawing money from banks. He demanded the Sindh government to formulate a strategy in consultation with the stakeholders and establish liasion committees of citizens, traders and police in the city.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 22nd, 2022.