Following the rise in street crimes in the port city which has triggered the loss of lives over the past few weeks, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Thursday said that the provincial government has decided to banish illegal immigrants from Karachi. The chief minister presided over an important meeting with security agencies where the focus was converged on the rising street crimes in the province, particularly the metropolis. In the meeting, CM urged Sindh Rangers Director General (DG) Major General Azhar Waqas to speed up intelligence-based operations across the province and to put the criminals behind bars.

Murad Ali Shah also directed Sindh Police to take strict action against people involved in street crimes. We will not allow terrorism to rear its ugly head again in the country, as the terrorists want to sabotage peace, said CM. Earlier on December 15, Bilal - a final-year student of petroleum engineering at NED University of Engineering and Technology, was killed by the snatchers while he was sitting at a tea shop on University Road. The fatal gunshots came when he refused to hand over his personal belongings to the suspects and resisted the robbery bid.

Another heartbreaking incident took place when 41-year-old man Zeeshan Afzal Khan was shot dead by armed men for blocking a mugging attempt in Gulistan-e- Johar, Block-14 on September 2. Before both of these gruesome incidents, 30-year-old Ammar, an employee of a local pharmaceutical company, was killed while he was heading to work by three armed gunmen. It was worth mentioned here that the port city of Karachi has witnessed an alarming increase in street crime after the flash floods in parts of the country. Besides, half of the criminals caught by police belong to other parts of the country. 385 people were killed in 2018 and 393 people in 2021 while 369 suspected killers were arrested till August 31, 2022.

In 2018, 2,211 vehicles were snatched, 26,846 vehicles stolen, and 15,678 mobile phones snatched. In 2021, 4,783 vehicles were snatched, 49,608 vehicles stolen and 25,000 mobile phones snatched. The Sindh Police told the committee that there was a sharp increase in the street crime in Karachi in recent times and they are trying to curb the incidents of street crime. The incidents of stealing mobile phones, motorcycles and purses are less than last year as previously, most of the cases were not registered.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP