Lawless Karachi

Lawlessness in Karachi continues as the sprawling city seems to be taken over by robbers and muggers who have created an aura of fear during the winter wedding season. The police are nowhere to be seen as armed men openly roam around the city anticipating their next prey. The deteriorating condition has turned these robbers into hardened criminals who without remorse do not hesitate to open fire and kill those attempting to resist.

Numerous horrifying cases have come to the fore in which innocent lives have been claimed. Two days ago, a 35-year-old woman was shot dead by suspected robbers in the busy area of Gulistan-e-Jauhar. On New Year’s Eve, a 25-year-old student was shot twice over resistance in North Karachi. It seems to be a routine matter for the citizens of Karachi that robbers go on a killing spree, stealing from helpless citizens while the police continue to fail at their job. No wonder reports show that the police in Karachi is one of the most corrupt institutions. The deteriorating law and order situation cannot persist like this and something will have to give. Either citizens will have enough of this and come out to protest in large numbers — in many areas, robbers are lynched if caught by citizens — or the police will have to seriously step up and control the situation. This will require some doing on their part as the entire system will need to be revamped and digitised. This means removing corrupt and lazy officials and streamlining a chaotic, dilapidated system. New rules and regulations must be sought on how to govern the sprawling city in a systematic and rigorous manner.

That being said, it cannot be ignored that high inflation, economic uncertainty and low standard of living have equally contributed to creating such criminals. While punishing the culprits will only act as a temporary remedial measure, improving socio-economic conditions will prove to be the antidote.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2023.

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