WE had invited some guests for dinner recently and while we were enjoying watching the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) together, one of our guests received an unnerving call informing him about an incident involving some relative. The young man was shot in the head while resisting an attempted armed robbery in New Karachi area.

The muggers managed to flee while the victim lay there unconscious, helplessly bleeding until help arrived. He was rushed to hospital where he was put on life support. He was in coma and there was no hope of survival.

The fearful look on the face of my parents when our relatives gave my example to describe the victim’s age and physique was disturbing. Just the mention of my name in that context was enough to make them go pale in the face.

Every Karachiite has a story to tell. Most of us have grown up listening to stories of such incidents taking place with someone we know or near where we live or where we work, and it is not rare to come across people who have undergone the agony first hand.

This is not anything like the Karachi we have heard about from our parents; the safe and secure Karachi of the 1970s. For us, the reality is just the opposite. For us, sadly, it has all become normal.

It is part of our daily lives to stay in constant fear of getting robbed, to watch our parents be worried about our safety, to avoid deserted roads and streets, to not leave our house late at night, to lock all the doors and even windows before going to bed. The precautions never end.

But, over the last few weeks, the situation in Karachi has really taken a turn for the worse. Street crimes have been rampant, and no specific area of this sprawling metropolis is safe from it except perhaps the gated communities of the cantonments.

Whether it is broad daylight or middle of the night, citizens have been losing their belongings, their assets, and sometimes even their lives to these robbers and looters. There is almost zero law enforcement, while most of the police force remains busy performing security and protocol duties for ministers, government officials and VIPs. Those who are on routine tasks are either incapable of performing their duties, or, ironically, are sometimes found involved in such crimes.

Karachi has been deprived of its due share of resources, water, development and infrastructure, transport, public-sector jobs. It needs all that, but what it urgently needs is peace and security.

No one knows when this era of uncertainty and incompetence will come to an end. No one knows how many more lives need to be sacrificed. No one knows when, if ever, Karachi would become safe again.

Haris Ali
Karachi

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2022