Street crime in urban, lawlessness in the Katcha area chronic issue: IGP

KARACHI-Sindh Inspector General of Poilce (IGP) Riffat Mukhtar on Wednesday termed street crimes in urban areas particularly Karachi and lawlessness in the Katcha areas of Kashmore, Shikarpur, Ghotki, and Sukkur as ‘chronic issues’ and said that the police is taking all-out measures to curb the crimes in both areas.

This he said during a presentation to participants of the PN Staff Course of Pakistan Navy War College here at CM House. The IGP highlighted the key challenges faced by law enforcement agencies. He noted that street crime in urban areas, particularly in Karachi, and lawlessness in the Katcha areas of Kashmore, Shikarpur, Ghotki, and Sukkur were significant issues.

He said that in the past, terrorism was also a challenge but it had been controlled through intelligence-based targeted operations. The IGP emphasized that the police department is fully prepared to provide security for the upcoming general elections.

When discussing street crime, the IGP identified mobile phone and cash snatching, vehicle theft or snatching, house robberies, murders, and extortion as major issues.

He was of the view that despite fluctuations in the rate of street crime, it remains a chronic urban issue, adding that the police is currently patrolling and conducting targeted operations to control the situation.

The IGP told the participants that there are four major heads of crime in Katcha area including kidnapping for ransom through honey trapping and forced kidnapping; highway robberies, tribal feuds and smuggling.

He said that 261 persons were kidnapped in 2023 but all the abducted persons have been freed from the clutches of dacoits.

Chief Secretary Dr Fakhre Alam suggested that the criminal justice system needs reform, specifically with regard to urban street crime. He said that the launching of the Karachi Safe City Project, along with increasing the technical capacity of the police would help resolve the matter.

The meeting was also attended by Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar, provincial ministers – Brig (retd ) Haris Nawaz, Mubeen Jumani, Omar Soomro, Ahmad Shah, Chairman P&D Shakeel Mangnejo and provincial secretaries. The war course delegation was led by Commandant Navy War College Rear Admiral Azhar Mehmood.