PEOPLE of Karachi, who have to endure everything — from battered roads and traffic congestion to lack of water, health-care and education — now face another kind of nuisance and humiliation on the streets. When law-abiding citizens stop at any traffic signal, they have to face hordes of professional beggars, who are a constant source of nuisance.

Nowadays, it has really become extremely difficult to wait at a signal even for a minute because these beggars and the so-called transgender people humiliate anyone who refuses to give them money.

While people have to suffer mental and physical agony owing to lack of roads and traffic jams to reach their destination, these beggars have now become a new source of harassment. Will the relevant authorities ensure that people have the luxury of waiting at traffic signals with some peace of mind instead of getting harassed by these goons on city roads?

Komal Khalid Khuhawar
Karachi

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2026