Street crime rises in Karachi neighbourhood metres away from police station

Armed robbers snatched a teenage boy’s mobile phone at gunpoint just meters away from Baloch Colony Police Station in Karachi and escaped without resistance. Locals say such incidents have become part of a growing pattern of street crime.

The incident occurred at about 1:45 pm on Thursday, 30 July 2026, when Hussain was leaving a mosque. According to Hussain, an armed man riding a motorcycle, with his face covered by a mask, stopped him, snatched his mobile phone at gunpoint and fled.

Residents say the robbery did not take place in a deserted location but close to the Baloch Colony police station in Defence View Housing Society’s Phase II.

They describe it as one of several similar incidents reported in recent weeks.

According to the area’s union, a day after Hussain’s robbery, two armed men allegedly stole a motorcycle and attempted to escape.

However, the motorcycle’s chain reportedly broke during the escape. After a resident raised the alarm, the suspects abandoned the vehicle and fled.

Two days before these incidents, another boy living in the same street was also robbed of his mobile phone at gunpoint, residents said.

People living in the area told ARY News Digital that dozens of street crime incidents, including mobile phone snatching, theft and robbery, had been reported during the past month.

Residents also said it had become common to see motorcycle riders wearing face masks and travelling on motorcycles without registration number plates, making suspects more difficult to identify.

Interestingly, despite providing the last location of the snatched mobile phone of Hussain, the following day after tracing it themselves. However, they said the device had not been recovered, and no arrests had been made.

It is to be remembered that all these crimes happened only in one phase out of three, which is Phase II, which is the nearest area just adjacent to Baloch Colony Police Station, covered with boundary walls and having only three entrance and exit points.

The reported incidents all occurred in Phase II of Defence View Housing Society, an area adjacent to Baloch Colony Police Station. The neighbourhood is enclosed by boundary walls and has only three entry and exit points.

The jurisdiction of Baloch Colony Police Station includes Defence View Housing Society, Manzoor Colony, Karachi Administration Employees Cooperative Housing Society (KAECHS), and adjoining areas.

When asked by ARY News Digital about the increase in street crime, Station House Officer (SHO) Zahid Soomro acknowledged a rise in incidents, particularly mobile phone snatching.

He said the police station did not have sufficient personnel to effectively tackle crime. He also cited a shortage of diesel for police patrol vehicles as a factor limiting law enforcement operations.

Referring to the previous day’s elections on Kashmir seats in the city, Zahid Soomro said officers had been deployed on election security duties and that available personnel were frequently assigned to VIP security arrangements.

He said he had written to senior police officials requesting additional staff and hoped reinforcements would be provided within the next few days.

Senior police officials have also acknowledged that street crime remains one of the biggest policing challenges in Karachi.

Speaking at a review meeting on the law-and-order situation in Sindh on 21 July 2026, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Javed Alam Odho said that mobile phone snatching was the only major category of crime to record an increase.

Karachi Police Chief Azad Khan has also described street crime as a major challenge for the city’s police. He said officers had busted a gang allegedly involved in a series of street crimes.