THE presence of VIPs perhaps never rankles the average Joe quite as much as it does when those VIPs gobble up chunks of real estate — that should by right be accessible to the general public — in an avowed quest for security around their spacious and already fortified abodes.

Where Karachi is concerned, that includes numerous diplomatic missions as well as former presidents’ residences. Increasingly, many ordinary citizens of Karachi have also resorted to barricading the streets and even entire localities where they reside, in the name of security.

Take a look: Inside Karachi: Over 125 street barriers removed

Some schools and even commercial enterprises have erected such barriers. Several days ago, the Rangers, citing the need for access to all thoroughfares as part of their operation to restore law and order in the city, issued a three-day ultimatum whereby everyone who had taken recourse to blocking off roads with barricades was to ensure their removal; otherwise the Rangers would undertake the task themselves.

After initial resistance, it seems even Bilawal House — which over the years has swallowed up a service lane and a green belt plus a two-way thoroughfare (one side was reopened in late 2013) by erecting concrete walls — has agreed to comply. Let us hope this is not a temporary concession.

There is no legal provision whereby a public thoroughfare can be closed permanently or on a long-term basis. Those engaging in this practice are thus not only creating a public nuisance but also violating the rights of their fellow citizens who, by virtue of being equal under the law, are entitled to unfettered use of public land.

Security concerns of course cannot be discounted, and here is where the state must do its duty by all citizens.

As things stand, the law-enforcement apparatus is geared towards providing security in the so-called elite areas where residents are already in a better position to safeguard themselves while localities lower down the income scale have little else but flimsy barricades to stave off threats to their lives and property.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2015

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