The worst of times

The right of every citizen to live with a sense of security has been snatched from them, quite literally, at gunpoint.

Karachi has been through some rough times over the past few years. Residents of this city of 18 million people will not be happy to know that worse days could lie ahead. Indeed, the prospect of this seems like a devastating scenario for a city that is the hub of commercial activity, and for that reason, in many ways, holds the key to the economics of the country, as it alone generates 25 per cent of economic activity.

While extortion is a daily reality in the city, with businessmen, shopkeepers and professionals all confronted by it, the possibility is that incidents of extortion could rise. Both the police and the Citizens Police Liasion Committee (CPLC) have forecast that it will. The figures bear them out. While 589 cases of extortion were reported in 2012, there have already been 630 complaints from January to mid-June this year. And, of course, the actual number of cases could be higher, with some victims, out of fear, preferring to remain silent and pay up without resistance. Life, after all, is precious in a city where 2,300 killings took place in 2012 compared with 1,700 the previous year. 1,400 lives have already been lost this year.

The police believe the addition of the Taliban to the criminal scene in Karachi has worsened matters, while also attributing a fair degree of unlawful activity to certain groups that enjoy political support. It is these complexities that the PML-N government will need to deal with. Means have to be found to restore order in Karachi if there is to be any hope for the country as a whole. The challenge is a gigantic one. The predictions from the CPLC do not augur well. Yet, somehow, the challenges need to be met. Otherwise, this menace has the potential to spread to other parts of the country, too. Already there have been reports of incidents where the Taliban have demanded extortion money from citizens in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. It is the right of every citizen to live with a sense of security, which has been snatched away from them, quite literally, at gunpoint.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2013.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.