CHARGED PARKING: The Sindh government had issued a notification, formally discontinuing charged parking in any shape or form in Karachi. However, the notification is being grossly violated across the city where parking fee is being charged at all major commercial areas and even adjoining streets in residential areas right under the nose of local police. The government should take serious notice of this blatant violation.

S.M. Asad
Karachi

NO LESSONS LEARNT: A cycle of intermittent rains, strong winds, hail-storms and thunderstorms in the last few weeks has brought about a flood-like situation in Balochistan, featuring damaged infrastructure and social paralysis. Alongside disruption to physical infrastructure and telecommunication, a 12-year-old girl was killed by a bolt of lightning. This devastation exposed the prevailing pattern of unpreparedness in the face of climate change. The environ-mental catastrophes of the past seem to have given no practical lessons to our policymakers. In effect, what should have become an integral part of policy agenda is managed merely through reactive, short-term fixes, which have always failed to have tangible outcomes. It is essential to tackle the ongoing calamity and prepare for the future.

Rafi Kakar
Qilla Saifullah

CRIME RATE: During the month of March, hundreds of Karachiites were deprived of their valuables, like cars, motorcycles, mobile phones and cash, either in gunpoint snatchings or in robberies. According to the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), these numbers included 140 cars, more than 3,000 motorcycles and over 1,000 mobile phones. Pakistan cannot be a developed country if such incidents continue to take place. No one from outside would dare to come here to invest or start a business. The authorities need to ramp up efforts to maintain worsening law and order, and give exemplary punishment to the culprits in order to curb the crime rate.

Mumraiz Khan
Karachi

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2026