LAHORE: Expressing its concern at the growing mob violence in the country, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Sunday urged the federal as well as provincial governments to take special measures and ensure these that incidents do not occur again.

In a post on its Twitter account, the human rights watchdog said: “HRCP is perturbed by the seeming rise in mob-led violence, with a suspected robber recently beaten by a crowd in Karachi and then shot dead.

“While this is symptomatic of the increasing brutalisation of society and easy availability of firearms, it is also underpinned by spiraling poverty and people’s disillusionment with the rule of law.”

The HRCP statement added that the federal and provincial governments and police should take special measures, including strategic deployment of trained personnel, to control such incidents in the future.

It may be mentioned that a suspected robber had been caught by the public while snatching mobile phones from a family at Karachi’s Jauhar Chowk in Orangi Town on June 28. The suspect was tortured by the public and he succumbed to his injuries during treatment at hospital.

Similarly, a suspect was tortured and lynched by a mob at the Qasba Colony while another man was injured.

Commenting on the HRCP post, a Twitterati said “when there is no rule of law, the rule of the mob takes over. Concern should be directed to authorities for not properly executing writ of the state. “It’s not about the availability of firearms – it’s the lack of state providing basic services,” he added.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2022