Political parties come down hard on Sindh govt and police as criminals rob citizens at will

Political parties have shown concerns over the increasing number of robberies and snatching incidents in which several people have lost their lives, mobile phones, jewellery and cash in Karachi.

They have held the provincial government and law enforcement agencies responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation in the city, demanding of the authorities to take effective measures against street criminals and ensure the safety of the public.

In a statement, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) Coordination Committee said the rising street crime and murders in the city were a question mark over the performance of the Sindh police. “The police administration has become a silent spectator as street crime is increasing day by day in the city. The police patrolling teams collect money from parking areas, venders, shopkeepers and tea stalls. Police have no concern about protecting citizens and their properties.”

The members of the committee said that on a daily basis criminals snatch mobile phones, cash and jewellery in robbery incidents, and innocent people are being killed but there is no one to handle the robbers.

The committee demanded of the Sindh government and Sindh police to take immediate measures to prevent the increasing incidents of crimes. Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) vice chairman Syed Hafeezuddin said the Karachi pays 90 per cent of Sindh’s budget but it has been left at the mercy of criminal elements by the “corrupt provincial government of the Pakistan Peoples Party”.

“A total of 350 people were killed and around 270 people were injured during street crime during the last eight months. In the last five days alone, nine innocent civilians have lost their lives resisting robberies. Over 32,000 motorcycles and 1,300 cars were stolen or taken away from citizens during the last eight months, but the provincial government is nowhere to control the criminals.”

He said people get no response when they need police help, and the absence of community policing under the local government has led to a rapid increase in such incidents as non-local police officers have no idea how to handle criminals.

The PSP leader said that in order to improve the performance of the police, the government should equip the police and other related institutions with modern technology and appoint local honest and responsible officers. He demanded of the provincial government to take concrete measures to protect the life and property of the people and to stop the incidents of street crime.

In a statement issued on Monday, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman had strongly condemned the Sindh government over rampant street crime in the city that had already claimed nine innocent lives in the last few days.

He said the rising lawlessness had put a serious question mark over the performance of the police, the Rangers and the Sindh government. It seems that the entire police department has been assigned the protection duty of politicians and other high-ups, he said and warned that the JI would assemble the masses for protests in front of police stations if the government and the police department failed to put their house in order.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Member of Sindh Assembly Raja Azhar, while expressing concerns over the increasing incidents of street crime in Karachi, has said a family was robbed in Buffer Zone, a citizen was killed in front of his family, and a religious cleric and a child were killed for resisting robbery in Korangi.

However, he said, the Sindh Police Department and the PPP-led provincial government were unable to maintain law and order in the city. He held the police and the government responsible for the lawlessness in the city. “When we point out that street crime in Karachi is increasing, our voice is ignored in the Sindh Assembly meetings. Innocent people are in jail and criminals are freely roaming in Karachi, and whenever criminal elements want, they snatch mobile phones and cash from citizens.”

Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen Sindh Secretary Information Ali Ahmar Zaidi told The News that it seems that the city has been left at the mercy of criminals, as there is a complete lawlessness in the city due to which the people are losing their lives, cash, jewellery and important documents.

He said the Sindh government and police are testing the patience of citizens. If the criminals in the city are not controlled, people will take up weapons for self-defence as street criminals are freely looting people and robbers are particularly targeting women.

He said a certain groups of looters is snatching jewellery from women. “The MWM demands of the government and the law enforcement agencies, especially the IG Sindh and the DIGs of all districts, to formulate an effective strategy to control street crime”.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan-Fazl Sindh spokesperson Maulana Samiul Haq Swati told The News that the party condemns the deterioration in law and order across city. Many incidents of daylight thefts and killings have been reported, but Sindh police is nowhere to arrest the criminals. The alarmingly rise in street crime has terrified the citizens in the city, but police and the provincial government are doing nothing against the street criminals.

Law enforcement agencies have failed to arrest them even after obtaining the CCTV footage which clearly show the faces of the criminals, he said, asking the people to voluntarily expose and trace these criminals. He demanded that the police should take immediate measures to arrest the criminals and ensure they are punished by the courts.