Pakistan

Karachi crime rate increased extraordinarily after floods: police

Published

8 months ago

Farwa

Karachi witnessing alarming rise in street crime, police admit.
Sindh Police says trying to curb incidents of street crime.
Incidents of snatching less than last year, police officials say.

ISLAMABAD: The port city of Karachi has witnessed an “alarming increase” in street crime after the flash floods in parts of the country, Sindh Police officials said Friday.

In a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior, the police officials said that half of the criminals caught by them belong to other parts of the country.

The meeting of the Senate body was held under the chair of Senator Mohsin Aziz.

Expressing concern over the sharp rise in street crimes in Karachi, the body directed the Sindh Police and other relevant departments to crack down on criminal elements.

The overall law and order situation in Karachi and particularly the performance of the Sindh Police in preventing street crimes, including theft, robbery, kidnapping, murder and target killings, were reviewed in detail.

The police officials told the committee that after the recent floods, there has been an “extraordinary increase” in street crimes in the city, adding that the police officers have been directed to lodge FIRs.

Sharing the data, they told that 42,669 crime incidents were reported in 2011, 39,694 in 2015, 61,244 in 2020 and 84,045 in 2021.

Moreover, 385 people were killed in 2018 and 393 people in 2021, while 369 suspected killers were arrested till August 31, 2022.

In 2018, 2,211 vehicles were snatched, 26,846 vehicles were stolen, and 15,678 mobile phones were snatched.

In 2021, 4,783 vehicles were snatched, 49,608 vehicles were stolen, and 25,000 mobile phones were snatched.

The Sindh Police told the senators that there was a sharp increase in street crime in Karachi in recent times and they are trying to curb the incidents of street crime.

The Senate committee was informed that the incidents of stealing mobile phones, motorcycles, and purses are less than last year as previously, most of the cases were not registered.

Member Standing Committee Senator Fauzia Arshad said that a huge number of street crimes were reported in the media and expressed reservations about the crime statistics given to the committee.

She said the reality seems to be different.

Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri said that the police department did not even register an FIR when the phone of her acquaintance was stolen in Karachi.

She added it has also been heard that flood victims’ women were raped under the pretext of giving aid and children were also abducted.

The officials of the Sindh Police told the committee there is a very low rate of rape cases in Sindh and Balochistan except in Machar Colony, an area of Karachi, where a high number of rape cases were reported.

In response to a question of the committee’s chairman, Aziz, the Sindh Police officials believe that people from Afghanistan were involved in the sale of drugs.

“All the Afghan refugees are not registered and steps are being taken to register and send them back,” they told the committee.

Pakistan

KU students end protest after ‘picked up’ student returns

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

KARACHI: Students of Karachi University called off their protest after a fellow student who was allegedly “picked up” from the varsity’s premises returned.

A KU student confirmed to Geo News that Saqib, the student who was allegedly “whisked away”, has returned.

The students of the varsity had launched a protest, earlier today, after Saqib was allegedly “taken away”.

The protesters told Geo News that the student, studying at the Department of Urdu, was allegedly whisked away by some people in plain clothes. They said the men claimed they were from a law enforcement agency.

However, KU Security Adviser Dr Moiz Khan said Rangers have disassociated themselves from the incident.

The university’s administration analysed the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage to identify the students and the people who picked him up.

After the incident, the students staged a protest outside KU’s Silver Jubilee Gate and blocked the University Road.

However, upon the police’s request, they shifted their protest to the front of the varsity’s administration block.

The Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) claimed that the student was its worker.

Pakistan

Jibran Nasir’s ‘kidnapping’ case registered hours after he was ‘picked up’ in Karachi’s DHA

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Cases registered under sections 365 and 34 of PPC.
Nasir’s wife seeks immediate release of her husband.
Protest today at 4:00pm at KPC to demand Nasir’s release.

KARACHI: The port city’s police have registered a “kidnapping” case of prominent lawyer and human rights activist Jibran Nasir on the complaint of his wife, Mansha Pasha, hours after the advocate was “picked up” from Defence Housing Authority (DHA) area.

The case has been registered at the Clifton Police Station under two sections of the Pakistan Penal Code — 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person) and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).

Pasha, a renowned actress, told police in an application earlier that her husband was “picked up” by men on Thursday night.

Mansha Pashas application to the police. — provided by the reporter — Mansha Pasha’s application to the police. — provided by the reporter

Police were at first, according to Pasha, not registering the FIR. She said she would move the court if the law enforcers did not register the case.

She stated: “On 01.06.2023 at about 11:00 pm, I was returning from dinner with my husband in our personal car … when a white color Toyota Hilux / Vigo … intercepted and hit our car from the front-left side and forced us to stop near Ideal Bakery on 26th Street, Defence Phase 5, Karachi.”

She further added: “Another vehicle i.e. a Silver Corolla blocked our vehicle from behind and as such, we were surrounded. Some 15 people along with weapons came out from the said vehicles in civil clothes and forced my husband to get out of the car, man-handling him towards the subject vehicle. They then abducted him and took him away and his whereabouts are unknown till now.”

In her application, she also requested immediate action be taken to ensure his swift release.

“In light of the above-mentioned situation, I have no other recourse than to approach your office for registration of my complaint for my missing husband. I would be thankful if an immediate action is taken for his swift release. Furthermore, action in accordance with law must be taken against those who abducted my husband,” she wrote.

Furthermore, Pasha told Geo News that a protest was being held at 4:00pm at the Karachi Press Club to demand her husband’s release.

Condemnations

As the news of Nasir’s abduction went viral, several people and human rights organisations condemned the incident.

Concerned by the abduction, they demanded that Nasir be returned home safely and quickly.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) took to Twitter stating: “HRCP is deeply concerned by reports that lawyer and activist [Jibran Nasir] has been abducted by unknown armed persons in Karachi. We demand that he be safely recovered immediately and his abductors held accountable under the law.”

Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Salman Sufi also tweeted his support for the human rights activist.

“Very disturbing to hear about [Jibran Nasir] abduction. Hope Sindh police will assist his family and locate him immediately. Jibran has always spoken against violent extremism and rioting. Hoping for his safe and immediate return,” he wrote.

Moreover, Imaan Mazari, the daughter of the former human rights minister Shireen Mazari expressed his dismay at the news.

“No words… complete madness,” she tweeted.

Pakistan

8-year-old girl raped in Islamabad

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Afghan girl was raped by a man in broad daylight.
Case lodged at Shahzad Town Police Station.
Medico-legal official confirms the girl’s rape.

ISLAMABAD: An 8-year-old Afghan girl was raped by a man in broad daylight who managed to run away in the presence of residents of Mohallah Diptian falling in the jurisdiction of Shahzad Town Police Station, The News reported Friday.

The minor victim was shifted to a hospital where the medico-legal official confirmed the rape.

The Shahzad Town police have registered the case against the unidentified rapist under sections 376 and 377/B of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the father of the victim but couldn’t hunt down the rapist till the filing of this report.

Hazar Gul, an Afghan national, hailing from Jalalabad, lodged a complaint with the Shahzad Town, saying that he was living in Mohallah Diptian, located near Mariam Masjid with his family for a couple of months.

“I was present at my house along with my elder brother when we heard some noises from the street, we rushed out of the house and witnessed a young man running towards us, consequently, without knowing the reason for his escape, we both tried to intercept him but he succeeded to let loose from our clutches and ran off from our custody,” the complainant narrating his story, said.

However, he said, “We moved towards the place where people of the street were gathered and saw my minor daughter crying.”

Upon query, the minor victim told him the tale of the brutal attack on her, saying she was playing near her house when she was dragged by the rapist into an under-construction house and raped forcibly.

The DPO (Rural) has taken up the case and asked the Shahzad Town police to take the case as a challenge and use all their efforts to make headway to arrest the rapist, the police sources said.

The SP has constituted teams and sent them to different locations to get a clue about the rapist.

The sources added that the police have rounded up a few suspects for investigation, claiming that the police teams would make headway to the criminal and hunt him down within the next 24 hours.