IT seems as if the people of Karachi have been left at the mercy of hardcore criminals, as the law-enforcement agencies that eat up a big chunk of taxes paid by the people have miserably failed to tighten the noose around criminals in the city.

A few days ago, commenting on the current law and order situation in Karachi, which is deteriorating by the day, a federal minister compared the ugly situation with that of London, Paris as well as other major cities around the world, concluding that life in Karachi was much better than the rest. Really? Was the minister trying to crack some kind of a joke? The fact is that the comments made by the minister speak volumes about his ministry’s failure in effectively handling the law and order situation in Karachi, and, indeed, elsewhere in the country.

Unsurprisingly, the World Justice Project’s (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2021 placed Pakistan amongst the lowest ranked countries (130th out of 139) in terms of adherence to the rule of law.

In order to get rid of the severity of law and order situation in the country, in general, and in Karachi, in particular, the federal government in collaboration with provincial governments is required to shape out a rather comprehensive and flawless strategy to combat the challenge of deweaponisation.

In essence, nobody, regardless of any of his/her status, should be allowed to carry or, say, to be in possession of arms with him/her except that of the law- enforcement agencies. If this exercise is undertaken in the right spirit, the crime rate in the city will surely go down.

Hasan Afzaal
Karachi

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2024