Surge in crime rates in Pakistan's Karachi has created fear psychosis and a sense of insecurity among the locals as around two-thirds of the population of the metropolis have experienced such incidents in one way or the other and almost one-fourth have directly suffered the loss of lives, Dawn reported citing a recent study.
"We carried out a study in all seven districts of the city that showed an increase in street crimes is making Karachiites more frightened and making them feel more insecure," said Kashif Hafeez of Pulse Consultant, a research organisation with nationwide operations.
Regarding the growing crime rates, the study noted that the people of Karachi described it as alarming.
"The response, as feared, showed a very serious and alarming situation. Some 69 per cent, or you can say seven out of 10 people, we reached out reported that someone in their family circle or friends has been victim to street crime," said Hafeez, Dawn reported.
When the survey was carried out among people aged between 16 years and 55 years, 23 per cent of people claimed losing belongings to street criminals. Moreover, the data compiled by police showcased a massive surge in criminal offences between January and September compared to the same period of the last year.
Snatching of mobile phones and theft of vehicles has also become a regular affair in Karachi.
The law and order situation in Karachi has been only deteriorating with every passing day and the local authorities do not tend to pay heed to it despite numerous people losing lives.
For over three decades, Karachi has been an epicentre of target killings for reasons ranging from ethno-political to sectarian disputes and from land mafia rivalries to personal vendetta and political outrage, reported Asian Lite International.
During the last couple of years, Karachi has seen frequent outbreaks of violence which have claimed hundreds of lives of innocent people. Over 56,500 cases of street crime have been reported in Karachi, the financial hub of Pakistan, during the current year.
Over 19,000 mobile phones were snatched from citizens, while 104 cars were forcefully taken and 1,383 bikes were stolen. Around 35,000 citizens were deprived of their motorbikes.
The recent history of violence in Karachi underlines one point clearly: the city is quickly falling victim to the temptations of 'power and influence' on the part of political players, reported Asian Lite International.
Besides, the ethnic factor is deeply entrenched in the ongoing criminal and political violence in the city. Pashtuns, who are estimated to constitute 20-25 per cent of Karachi's population have been politically marginalized in the city, but now they are asserting themselves and accordingly rearrangements in the political spectrum are causing violent episodes.
Furthermore, the flocking of suspected terrorists from tribal areas due to the ongoing military operations in the tribal regions further complicates the situation.
( With inputs from ANI )
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