Robberies had been increasing in Karachi, day by day. Many citizens were complaining to the police, but no strict action took place. Burglars came up with new ways to fool people and often they impersonated as staff of banks, hospitals, handymen, etc. This way they would trick people into allowing them inside their houses, and would then rob them of their precious belongings.

All of us were very disturbed by these incidents and prayed to Allah Subhautallah to keep us save from all kinds of bad experiences. Our prayers paid off as one day my father received a message from the bank in which the bank requested us to note the date a bank employee would come with some papers for us to fill and sign. They also provided us with his picture so that no one could trick us.

The concerned staff came on the right time and did his appointed work. The next day a stranger came on our door and continuously rang the doorbell. My mum rushed to the door. A man saying that he was an employee of the bank came to our door to update our account.

My mother asked him to wait for two minutes and closed the door. We had realised that this person was a con. So we made a plan to get him arrested. Mum opened the door and faked that she believed he was a bank employee. She invited him in. As soon as he came in, dad jumped on him and knocked him to the ground. He fell so hard that he lost consciousness. We took advantage of that moment and called the police.

Luckily, by the time the police came, the robber was still not conscious. The police later told us that the robber was wanted by them for several similar incidents and it was our alertness that saved us.

Published in Dawn, Young World, September 18th, 2021