EXTORTION and kidnapping for ransom are crimes of national concern, as no major urban area in Pakistan seems to be free from this menace. Karachi has long suffered from these crimes, with criminal, political and religious groups affecting everyone from shopkeepers to much more lucrative targets in the country’s financial hub. In the recent past, increased incidents of extortion have also been reported from Rawalpindi and Islamabad; in the twin cities proscribed militant groups appear to be particularly active in these activities. However, extortionists and kidnappers have not spared Khyber Pakhtunkhwa either, especially Peshawar. In this regard, it is welcome that the KP chief minister has said that a network of extortionists has been identified and that a ‘result-oriented’ crackdown has been ordered. We certainly hope this is the case because until now, extortionists and kidnappers seemed to have been operating quite brazenly in Peshawar. Reports from the KP capital indicate that apart from terrorism, extortion and kidnapping for ransom are Peshawar’s biggest law and order headaches. Reportedly, the business community in Peshawar has been ‘advised’ by the police to arrange for their own security. Criminal gangs, militants and Afghan suspects are all believed to be involved in the extortion racket. So rampant is the menace that many businesses have relocated to relatively safer areas of the country. Politicians, doctors and other professionals have also been targeted by extortionists.

The primary impediments standing in the way of a crackdown against such criminals include matters of police jurisdiction, as well as the technical capacity, or lack thereof, of the law enforcers to bust those involved in extortion. Regarding jurisdiction, there needs to be greater integration between police in the settled areas of KP and the law-enforcement apparatus in the tribal regions in order to ensure a harmonised effort against criminals. Bureaucratic wrangling should not stand in the way of an effective crackdown. With regard to technical ability, the KP government must provide the police with the necessary tools to help bust gangs involved in extortion. A greater effort is also needed to block roaming Afghan SIMs — as ordered by the Peshawar High Court last year — as these are said to play a key role in facilitating such crimes.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2014