Police collusion, land mafia rules as Karachi's vacated Afghan camp exposes failing law enforcement

Karachi [Pakistan], November 1 : The abandoned Afghan Camp near Karachi's Gulshan-e-Maymar has turned into a hotspot for criminal activity following the return of thousands of Afghan refugees to their homeland under Pakistan's drive to deport illegal foreigners, as reported by ARY News.

According to ARY News, residents of the area have complained that groups of thieves now freely operate inside the deserted settlement, allegedly under the protection of certain police personnel. Locals recounted an incident where they caught several suspects red-handed stealing valuable scrap materials, including copper, brass, and iron rods, from deserted houses and loading them into a vehicle.

Although the culprits were handed over to the police, residents claimed they were released shortly afterwards without facing legal action. Police officials stated that the suspects were freed because no formal complaint had been lodged. They added that the seized goods remain in police custody while the investigation continues. Meanwhile, the Karachi Police have initiated a large-scale demolition operation in the Afghan Camp area to prevent illegal encroachments and further criminal activities.

Residents stated that these anti-encroachment operations, usually conducted during the day, have failed to deter nighttime crimes. They allege that once darkness falls, the camp becomes an unchecked zone for theft and looting, raising serious concerns about law enforcement's credibility in the area.

In an internal report, DIG West Irfan Baloch revealed that the Afghan Camp, also known as MDA Land, falls under the jurisdiction of the Gulshan-e-Maymar Police Station in Karachi's District West. The report stated that the camp originally consisted of 3,117 residential units, including 200 to 250 houses owned by Pakistani citizens. Before the repatriation process began, nearly 15,680 Afghan nationals resided in the area; of them, 14,296 have returned to Afghanistan, while 1,384 remain and are being repatriated in phases, as highlighted by ARY News.

DIG Baloch warned that after the camp's evacuation, land mafia groups and criminal elements swiftly moved to occupy and encroach upon the vacated land, exposing Pakistan's persistent governance failures and the deep-rooted nexus between police negligence and organised crime, as reported by ARY News.

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