Of cellphones & VIP security

THERE are evidently many ways of losing your cellphone in this city. Which is to partly suggest that you can lose it peacefully and without hassle. Or you can lose it, at the risk to your life. In very unfortunate circumstances that risk can turn into a tragic reality. This newspaper reported that three people lost their lives in town on Thursday, two of them while trying to save their cellphones.

One thinks about the insecurity in Karachi and in that wider context thought goes out to this young employee Abdur Rehman, who was complaining bitterly that he had lost his new cellphone (cost Rs6,300) in the office bathroom. He agreed that he was negligent. He forgot it there and returned after two-three minutes it was gone, and the person who took it away had switched it off instantly.

I heard him in silence at that time. But I may tell him the next time I meet him that he was lucky he lost his cellphone in the quiet tension free manner. No trauma, no tragedy. What if he had been confronted on the streets of Karachi, or elsewhere by an armed man and what if he had responded to that challenge, and created trouble for himself?

So if a cellphone has to go, the process better be peaceful. But apparently, whether peaceful or not, and despite all claims about the official efforts made to combat the incidents of cellphone snatchings, the results are rather disappointing. Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan has (once again) “stressed the need for making result-oriented efforts for containing this crime.” A private TV channel in its weekly focus on country-wide crime reveals that street crime in Karachi is the highest in Pakistan.

And street crime is targeting as a matter of routine, expatriates, in the early hours of the morning when they are returning home after arrival at the Karachi airport. Yet another case was reported in this daily on Friday and once again in the NIPA area. Aziz Bhatti and Sharea Faisal police jurisdictions are particularly vulnerable.

At a recent high-level meeting, held during the week specifically for the purpose of reviewing "the steps aimed at curbing the mobile phone snatching incidents", the governor directed the mobile phone companies to ensure compliance with the necessary regulations in the process of issuance of mobile connections. Besides, the senior officials of the province, there were also present Pakistan Telecommunication Authority bosses, the CPLC chief and chief executives of mobile phone companies.

It is very pertinent to mention here that cellphone companies, whose advertising and promotion campaigns for newer and costlier cellphone models is forever on the rise, have not yet, apparently, been able to come up with details in public of what they can do for the customer who has lost his cellphone. The public expectation that a snatched phone should be made dysfunctional once the customer reports the crime has not been met yet.

Even the governor pointed out in the meeting that the mobile phone connections issued in a non-transparent manner were used in carrying out several heinous activities, while people were even killed in incidents of mobile snatching. The governor said that to overcome these crimes, mobile phone companies would have to play their effective role in blocking the use of snatched mobile sets, and for this purpose, ordered these companies to immediately ensure the use of modern technology.

I find this very surprising (read disappointing) that mobile phone companies are forever offering packages to promote sale of cellphones, but doing absolutely nothing on the instrument’s safety. Perhaps public opinion and pressure, along with official measures, need to be taken to bind these companies to demonstrate corporate social responsibility in this critical domain too. Holding musical concerts is definitely not enough!

On a related subject there is a very significant development, which among other things also reflects public opinion. All police mobiles and security guards given "unnecessarily" to various people in Sindh are to be withdrawn by Monday next. This was directed by the governor after a meeting held at the Governor's House which reviewed the law and order situation in Sindh. A cynical citizen on hearing of this wondered about the extent of security cover that had been employed by the VIPS to reach the Governor’s House for that meeting.

Details of the meeting are occasions for reflection and contemplation for the citizens as well. It is stated that there is a plan of action that has been formulated, and as a first step these guards and escorts posted unnecessarily at the residences of ministers and advisers are to be withdrawn. And it was ordered that instead security be provided to the extent that the ministers and advisers were eligible. Moreover, it was stated that “unauthorised guards, escorts and mobiles with police officers would also be withdrawn.”

Obviously citizens reflect about this announcement and wait for more details if they are available. Were these VIPs and elected representatives of the people using unauthorized security cover? The governor has been quoted as saying that there should be end to the trend of keeping police guards and keeping them as status symbol. This is certainly a reflection on the society that we have turned into.

It is to be welcomed that the meeting also decided that the police vehicles deployed for the safety of such persons cannot use emergency lights and hooters, and provincial ministers and advisers as well as federal ministers visiting Karachi would not use traffic pilots. And traffic signals would not be closed for them. Karachiites are waiting for an early compliance to all these instructions.

In the city government, there are only two exceptions to security cover. The nazim and naib nazim could use guards, and if the town or union council nazims need, they should make private arrangements. Even others can employ private security guards, if they need so.

What does all this societal focus on security issues mean, really?

The good news from the meeting is that it noted that “Karachi is as safe as any other city of the world…. And that there has been a remarkable improvement in the law and order situation as compared to the past years”.Yet look at the fact that the Town Police Officer told the tribunal investigating the April 11 Nishtar Park blast that there were no funds available with the police to install CCTV. He said that stipulation for CCTV was made for Moharram processions also, but it remained confined to paper it was written on. There is much to contemplate about this.