KARACHI: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf on Monday approached the Sindh High Court on the current state of law and order mainly in urban areas of Sindh alleging that the Sindh government of the Pakistan Peoples Party had lost its writ and failed to curb the menace of street crimes.

PTI-Karachi president and member of the provincial assembly Khurram Sher Zaman filed a petition asking the judiciary to direct the Sindh government and inspector general of police to play their role in curbing the menace of street crimes.

“The Sindh government is responsible for protecting the life and property of its citizens,” he said while talking to reporters after filing the petition. “The Sindh government has failed to curb street crime across the province. Nazim Jokhio has been killed due to violence by the ruling party’s MPA Jam Awais. The Sindh government should take stern action against those responsible for the murder of Jokhio.”

Mr Zaman said that the people of Karachi were living in a constant fear and a large number of people were not leaving their home after the sunset due to the growing incident of street crimes all across the city with no check from the police authorities.

He asked the leaders of the ruling party in Sindh to stop “fooling” the people in the name of democracy. He held the PPP responsible for growing crimes as it had failed to protect the rights of the people even after the 13 years of rule.

“I have shared the data of street crimes of only this year,” he said. “I strongly believe that if the numbers of the last 13 years are made public, the PPP would have no moral ground to continue its rule. But when it comes to moral values we all know where this [PPP] party stands. We have requested the court for its help and hope that it would hear us on these lines.”

In the petition, the PTI leader referred to the data compiled by the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) that said 1,309 vehicles and 18,781 cell phones were snatched in the first 10 months of 2021.

He also cited 154 incidents of extortion in the CPLC data and sought in the petition a report from every police station in the province regarding the incidents of street crime.

He said that the Sindh police had failed to achieve the desired success as an impartial law enforcement agency, as it often seen protecting wasted interest of influential individuals and groups.

Mr Sher Zaman was of the view that any negative perception of Karachi, which is the commercial capital of the country, badly affected investors’ confidence.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2021