THE violent crime wave that has been afflicting Karachi for the past few years shows no sign of abating, as lives full of potential are snuffed out by criminals over a mobile phone or a few thousand rupees. Over the weekend, a bright young engineer was gunned down in the city’s Gulshan area by muggers. Several such young people, including students with their lives ahead of them, have mercilessly fallen to criminals’ bullets in this crime-infested city. Moreover, no part of Karachi seems to be immune from this crime wave. From the so-called posh areas to sprawling shantytowns, all of Karachi’s neighbourhoods are susceptible to violent crime. For example, over the past few days, armed criminals murdered an industrialist in DHA who had just drawn cash from a bank, while in Korangi, a used-shoe vendor met the same fate. The numbers paint a tragic picture. Figures published by this paper show that up till mid-April, 60 people had lost their lives in street crime incidents. The total number of victims in 2023 was 108.

The state’s reaction to this crime epidemic has been inadequate. The latest step the Sindh government has taken is to ban the display of arms for three months. If this is linked to street crime, it is unlikely to stem the tide. Moreover, private guards working for state functionaries and ruling party apparatchiks openly brandish their weapons. Rather than instilling fear in the criminals, these vulgar displays of power frighten law-abiding citizens. The MQM has suggested issuing more arms licences to Karachi’s citizens. But in a city awash with arms — many of them illegal — will more guns solve the problem? When the state fails to act, a jittery public takes the law into its own hands by lynching suspects. De-weaponisation and professional policing are key to cracking down on violent crime. Does the Sindh government have the wherewithal to do the needful?

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2024