Street crimes

Karachi is witnessing the resurrection of street crimes. People are being robbed of their valuable items, including mobile phones, jewellery and cash, in broad daylight. Criminals open fire on innocent people who show resistance while handing over their valuable items to them. A few days back, a sad incident took place in Soldier Bazaar. A robber asked a lady to give her mobile phone to him. All of sudden, the cell phone of the petrified woman fell down. She bent down to pick it up and was immediately shot. She died on spot. This incident shows how dangerous our city has become. That unemployment is the main reason behind the rising crime rate has been discussed many times. But mere discussions lead to nothing. In fact, the hollow statement that we are saddened by the death of the innocent too holds no importance.

Unless the city is turned into a safe and secure place to live in, pessimism will loom in the air. It will not be wrong to say that snatching has become a leisure activity of the unemployed. It seems that the government is clueless and doesn’t have any plan to deal with the problem. There are a few steps which can be taken by the authorities to bring peace to Karachi. First, no citizen should be allowed to carry weapon on streets. Second, those who are involved in such criminal activities should be given exemplary punishments so that they do not have the courage to repeat the same crime again. Third, job and internship opportunities should be created for people so that they have something constructive to do.

Ashfaq Sharif

Karachi