KARACHI has seen three bomb blasts in a row within weeks. First it was Karachi University’s Confucius Institute, followed by a blast in downtown Saddar, and then came the one near the famed Memon Masjid in Kharadar.

The target in the first blast was high-profile, while the other two rocked extremely congested areas where thousands of people generally remain present all day long. These terrorist incidents indicate security lapses and incompetence, and that places a big question mark against the performance of the security apparatus.

Sindh Police remains busy with VVIP security and protocol duties, and Karachi has been seemingly left at the mercy of criminals and terrorists who can do anything anywhere anytime without any fear.

Who will protect this forsaken city that is the biggest contributor to the national kitty? It is quite upsetting that high security is deployed only after some tragedy takes place, and it is so clerical in approach that it ends up causing trouble to our own people through snap checks and road blocks. This leaves the rest of the city unprotected and then something tragic happens somewhere else.

The authorities need to make a foolproof plan to provide citizens due protection to one and all from criminals and terrorists.

M. Shamail Anwar
Karachi

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2022