CRIME is on the rise in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. First my friends and later on I myself became victim. All of us have the same story, and it has been going on for a long time. We all lost our cars, one by one, to carjackers and thieves, who go after Corollas and Mehrans, as these models are in great demand.

The vehicle owner files an FIR, and after a day or two you will receive a call for money. The demand is always around Rs600,000. The best part of the call is that you always receive it on a number left in the FIR, not on a number that you have kept for public use.

We all know that these stolen cars are kept in special cells built in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and not taken away to Afghanistan. The KP government’s silence about the matter raises many questions. The demand starts at Rs10m which may be lowered after negotiations.

However, you can’t get away by giving just once. You will receive a call every month to either pay the money or get ready to be shot. It is most painful that people prefer to oblige these criminals instead of challenging them.

I hope the government will rise to the occasion and assert its authority to establish peace and stability in the province. There must not be any room for criminals.

Dr. Saddiqa Gul

Peshawar

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play