Pakistan's Karachi city sees rise in street crimes; sacrificial animals stolen ahead of Eid ul-Adha

Karachi: Ahead of Eid ul-Adha celebrations, street criminals in Pakistan's largest metropolis, Karachi, are increasingly targeting people carrying sacrificial animals which are being sold for thousands and lakhs of rupees.

In the first five months of 2023, street crimes in the city rose sharply, with at least 46 people killed while resisting robberies in over 3,000 reported incidents, according to the Sindh Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC).

Alarmingly, over 21,000 mobile phones have been snatched, and over 20,000 motorcycles and cars were reported snatched or stolen.

Street criminals in the city have graduated from looting people to stealing sacrificial animals and carrying out daring hold-ups in restaurants and even graveyards, making life miserable for the over 17 lakh metro area population.

In a new trend witnessed in recent days, criminals have taken to stealing and taking off with sacrificial animals with impunity, brought in large numbers by citizens ahead of Eid ul-Adha celebrations on Thursday.

Being sold this year for thousands and lakhs of rupees, sacrificial animals have become such a lucrative target for criminals that a special security force has been deployed by the Sindh police at the main animal markets set up for the upcoming Eid.

Last week, armed robbers daringly unloaded goats from a moving van as the driver watched helplessly with two motorcyclists pointing guns at him.

The nadir came last Saturday when six criminals looted people in a graveyard in the Korangi area of the city while video-recording their exploits on their mobile phones.

The six were identified and arrested from the Shershah area in the city, according to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Malik Zafar Awan.

“We found stolen motorcycles, mobiles and other valuables from their safe house in Shershah when we conducted a raid to arrest them,” he said, adding that the gang was also involved in street crimes and home invasions in different parts of the city.

Karachi, reported to be the 12th largest city in the world and Pakistan’s economic hub, has been plagued by street crimes for many years, with the impunity of street criminals growing due to the weak law enforcement in the city.

According to sociologist Dr Aima Akbar, the recent increase in street crimes can be attributed to the ongoing political and economic turmoil in the country.

“Criminals are emboldened because of the turmoil, and for a long time now, it is common knowledge the Sindh police does not have enough manpower to man a city like Karachi which is expanding rapidly,” she said.

Admitting that police were short-staffed, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Muhammad Tariq Mughal said, "We have set up a special Shaheens force to deal with street criminals, but presently we have just 128,000 policemen of all ranks on duty, and this makes it difficult to petrol every area of the city.” He conceded that many cases of street crimes also go unreported.

Shedding light on the reasons for rampaging street crimes, Aima Akbar said, “These are complex and multifaceted. Unemployment and poverty contribute to this. Many qualified youths are without jobs, and this leads to frustration and anger."

The combination of poverty with the large population of poor and underprivileged people in Karachi often leads people to turn to crime as their means of survival.

Weak law enforcement is also a significant factor contributing to street crime in the populous city with a metro area population of 17,236,000. Newly elected Mayor Murtaza Wahab said one of his main priorities was to work with law enforcement agencies and improve the security situation in Karachi.

Asserting that the provincial government has already taken various steps to improve law and order, including establishing special police units to tackle street crime, he said, "But we also need to address the other causes for the youth turning to street crimes like creating more job opportunities."