Crime capital?

Between 4pm on Wednesday and 2am on Saturday, Karachi witnessed two incidents of targeted killing. The first incident in the busy Saddar neighbourhood saw a Chinese national shod dead and two others – a Chinese dentist and his wife, living in Karachi for decades – suffer gun wounds.

The second incident of shooting, at a fire brigade station of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation in Korangi, resulted in the killing of two employees of the corporation and injuries to one more. Both cases are similar to the extent the attackers in both cases entered the workplaces – the dentist clinic in the first case and the fire station in the second – and opened fire. Whatever the motives – extortion, score-settling, disturbing peace in the city, or attempting to damage ties with a strategic partner – the two acts of shooting amply prove that Karachi police have not had a bit of progress when it comes to controlling crime in the city.

That no arrests have been made despite four days having been passed since the killing of the Chinese national points towards the impunity that the criminals, even those shooting notables, enjoy in the city. The Saddar killing came just a day after Karachi police chief Javed Alam Odho claimed progress in efforts to control street crime, saying that the city was ranked 106 on the global list of 250 crime-affected cities last year and the ranking had improved to 128 this year. Much has been written on the flourishing street crime in the city that serves as the country’s engine revenue. Whether for want of genuine efforts or the lack of capacity, Karachi has all but turned into the country’s ‘crime capital’ rather than the financial capital. It is about time the City of Quaid is purged of crime – whatever it takes.