Extortion, killings: Businessmen may take up arms for their defence
Addressing the business community and media in the presence of Sindh Inspector General of Police Fayyaz Ahmed Leghari at KCCI, former KCCI president Siraj Kassam Teli said he would quit chamber politics for good if the poor law and order situation persisted after Eid.
“Enough is enough. We’ve lost patience with the government as well as the Sindh police,” said Teli, who is also the chairman of the Businessmen Group, whose favoured candidates have won KCCI elections unopposed for many years. KCCI is the largest chamber of commerce and industry in Pakistan with over 18,000 members.
Taking a cue perhaps from the influential gun lobby of the United States, Teli said he was going to ask every businessman to carry arms and be responsible for his own security. “I’m in favour of a free-for-all. A criminal wouldn’t have the courage to pull a gun in a crowded bazaar if no gun rules existed.”
Calling Interior Minister Rehman Malik a “liar,” Teli said the federal and provincial governments, along with the Sindh police, had shown little willingness to curb rising incidents of extortion so far.
Expressing his dismay over the frequent use of unregistered mobile phone SIMs to send death threats to the business community, he accused the federal government of criminal negligence and deliberate ineffectiveness.
Responding to the comments of Teli, Sindh IGP Leghari said the biggest challenge facing the provincial police was extortion. Kidnappings for ransom and street crimes are the next priorities of the police department, he said.
“I’ve proposed that neighbourhood committees should be formed in all markets where members of traders’ associations, in cooperation with police personnel, take care of law and order,” Leghari said.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 3rd, 2012.
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No offense but u think Karachites with all the ethinic tensions pervalent in the pot we call karachi will trust FC personals with their security @Saz
With inept officials like leghari at the helm and infested with political appointees, the Sind Police can do no good even if it wanted to. The businessmen can not bear the threats for long, even if they get weapons the threat to life will remain, and sooner or later they will leave the country for good. That's what an incompetent leadership does for a country.
So basically... the people, the community and to larger extent the whole nation except the bureaucrats,politicians and the rich and famous left on the mercy of these killers and extortionist.... what sort of society, this country is turning into,,,,I wonder keeping the silence and being hammered from all angles would be a viable option to last in this nation...the 90% of the population is being taken hostage by mere 10% of the elites... way to go...if that is the case we are doomed and destined to deserve the torment and suffering...
Very soon anarchy will decent upon us.
This is the best way of defense, not relying on corrupt government is the way to go. I hope the gun for self defense and property protection picks up.