Kashmore calling

Of all the responsibilities the state owes to its people, security for lives and livelihoods is fundamental. However, in the Kashmore district of Sindh, this responsibility appears to have been implicitly delegated to outlaws, who exploit it through extortion or protection money.

For decades, misgovernance and the state's deliberate apathy, coupled with its entrenched tribal and feudal dynamics, have eroded state authority, effectively ceding control to tribal and feudal warlords and the political elite, and leaving public services and infrastructure in a shambles. To consolidate their socio-political and economic gains and undermine opponents, local warlords have patronised criminal gangs, which have unleashed criminality with near impunity for years.

The years of extortion and kidnapping have adversely affected the lives and livelihoods of Kashmore's peaceful population, forcing many to flee the district for safety. For instance, the HRCP 2024 report suggests that 300 Hindus, not to mention Muslims, have left the district due to lawlessness. The business community, due to their financial stability, has been targeted for extortion, among other things. The same holds true for most professionals, including doctors — a vicious criminal phenomenon that has left the district with fewer businesses and qualified human capital.

For instance, the home of a Hindu doctor — the district's sole ENT specialist - was recently attacked for extortion in Kandhkot. In response to growing threats and extortion demands, healthcare professionals in Kashmore and Kandhkot went on a three-day strike, only to get back to work after authorities promised enhanced security. Nevertheless, they remain skeptical about whether the authorities - known for betraying their responsibility to protect lives and livelihoods - will keep their promises.

Amidst growing insecurity, desperate citizens had pinned their hopes, repeatedly crushed in the past, on the recent visit of the Home Minister along with the IIGP, aimed at assessing the law and order situation. However, their hopes remain unfulfilled, as the district has yet to see any considerable improvement.

At the time of writing these lines, at least four people remain in the captivity of bandits in the district for ransom. Meanwhile, extortion, dacoities, highway robberies of tractors and motorbikes, and street crimes continue in Kandhkot and most other towns in the district. Additionally, a labourer was killed on Labour Day, and a couple of innocent citizens became victims of tribal feuds in Kandhkot, all in the past seven days.

The district's notorious criminality raises a pressing question: what perpetuates this cycle? Several interconnected factors are at play, including chronic socio-economic marginalisation; the entrenched influence of tribal and feudal warlords, pirs and political elite; complacent and politicised LEAs; a police-media nexus that is symbiotic for each other but parasitic toward citizens; the undue interest of state and non-state actors; an overemphasis on tribal, feudal and ethnic identities and the resulting reliance on sentimental appeals; and the policy of encouraging infighting through divisions.

Collectively, these factors have turned criminality into a self-sustaining phenomenon, whereby it serves as a source of income, popularity, notoriety, influence and relevance for otherwise irrelevant individuals and groups in tribal, feudal and religio-political circles, as well as for local media.

For most of them, increased criminality means more aggrieved people to exploit under the pretext of redressing their grievances. The sponsored and shared interests of all stakeholders and beneficiaries preclude any decisive action against the growing lawlessness in the district.

Therefore, reclaiming the state's writ requires undoing patronage and bringing criminals and their patrons — regardless of affiliation — to justice. To achieve this, depoliticising the police and liberating local media from entrenched nexuses would be a crucial first step. Moreover, the provincial government's focus on socio-economic uplift and disempowering tribal and feudal interests would help sustainably address the roots of lawlessness.