Karachi city is going down the drain!

The targeting of foreigners in Pakistan has reached a new high. This combined with the lawlessness in Karachi city raises questions about the capacity and capability of the Pakistani State in tackling organised crime and terrorism. Current indications are that this capability is weak and the chances of a dramatic increase in targeted killings and organised crime are more than ever before given Pakistan’s fragile geo-political and economic situation. Most recently, a vehicle carrying five Japanese nationals was targeted by a suicide bomber in Karachi’s Landhi area. This comes two years after three Chinese academics were killed by a Baloch suicide bomber at Karachi University. Fortunately, the Japanese autoworkers working for Suzuki Motor Company, survived the attack but one security guard died of his injuries. As if this wasn’t enough, Karachi has been in the throes of brutal street crime including robberies, muggings, and killings for several months now.

The killing of a Karachi resident, Syed Turab Hussain Zaidi, for resisting robbery is a case in point. The situation is such that even places of worship are not safe. Recently, three worshippers at a mosque in Karimabad were stripped of their cash and valuables by a mugger. Pakistan is clearly at a tipping point and this time it is probable that things will go down rapidly. Just how unsafe Karachi has become was highlighted when a suicide bomber targeted five Japanese nationals (19 April) on their way to the Export Processing Zone. According to the police, the suicide bomber was killed in the attack while his accomplice was shot dead. Law enforcers said the collaborator fired 15 rounds and was carrying grenades. It is believed that the slain associate had links with a Baloch separatist outfit, underscoring the need for foreign nationals in Pakistan to be provided with extra security. Azfar Mahesar, Deputy Inspector General of Police, East, told Dawn that the attack on the Japanese nationals occurred near Murtaza Chorangi in Landhi, when they were travelling in a Hiace van as they were going to the Suzuki factory.

In March 2024, five Chinese nationals along with their Pakistani driver were killed after a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into their convoy in KPK. The Chinese nationals were heading to the Dasu Dam project, being constructed under the CPEC. This attack was the third in a series of attacks, two of which occurred in Balochistan, first at a naval base in Turbat and another one at Gwadar. Armed fighters attacked Pakistan’s Gwadar port in Balochistan, which is being built with Chinese help. Then, an armed group attacked one of Pakistan’s largest naval bases, also in Balochistan. Chinese investment in the region was mentioned as the motivation for the attack. And finally, fighters targeted Chinese engineers working on a Chinese-funded hydropower project in the country’s north, near Besham city. These incidents bring into question the vigilance and performance of Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department and the intelligence machinery.

Karachi city has been the venue of terror campaigns, political, sectarian, and ethnic carnage for over two decades. Presently, brutal street crime afflicts it, costing many lives on a daily basis. Poor security impacts both the economy and geopolitical situation. Pakistan’s growth depends on a safe environment for foreigners and investment. Another recent incident of violence occurred when unknown gunmen killed two customs officers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s, Dera Ismail Khan in an attack that followed the 18 April attack in which five officials of the Customs Intelligence and two civilians, including a five-year-old girl, were killed in an ambush by unidentified gunmen, Geo News reported. According to law enforcement officials, four others sustained injuries in the gun attack when the assailants targeted customs officials on Saggu Road in Daraban Tehsil. The armed attackers, concealing themselves in bushes, ambushed the customs vehicle and swiftly fled the scene on motorcycles without encountering any resistance. According to the statistics issued by the Department of Interior and Tribal Affairs KPK, the areas most affected by terrorism include Peshawar, Khyber, Bajaur, and Tank, while Dera Ismail Khan in North Waziristan and, South Waziristan are included in the terror-affected areas.

In Karachi, the Citizen Police Liaison Committee, an organisation that collects crime data stated that “during January and February: a total of 106 fatalities occurred in the city, 11 cases of kidnapping for ransom were reported, a staggering 10,488 motorcycles and 441 cars were stolen, and approximately 4,000 incidents of mobile phone snatching were reported”. While opposition leaders criticise the performance of the provincial PPP government, officials also lay the blame on multiple stakeholders, including the previous caretaker set-up, leading to the public’s loss of trust in the police and administration. It is reported that between 2022 and 2024, more than 250 people were killed and over 1,000 injured in street crime. Meanwhile, muggings have become are indiscriminate. From call-centre and night shift workers, students, and domestic help to clerics, shopkeepers and vendors, the menace has spared none. The alarming rise in violence shows that the provincial government is at a loss on how to address the challenge. The Federal Government appears to be doing no better and this could also be put down to political differences between centre and state as the former in PML-N led while the provincial government is PPP-led.

Dawn newspaper reported (27 April 2024) that the scale and intensity of the law and order problem in Karachi had forced lawmakers belonging to the opposition Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and ruling Pakistan Peoples’ Party to put aside their differences and sit together with top police authorities to find a solution to the menace of street crime in the metropolis. Whether this will lead to an improvement in the situation remains moot. Karachi city epitomises today all that is wrong in Pakistan. Organised crime, narcotics, armed violence and robbery, you name it and it is present. To top it all incidents of attack on foreigners particularly Chinese nationals creates more complications, as external players get involved in seeking security for their citizens. The Chinese have been most vocal about their national being targeted and their leverages on Pakistan, both political and economic are used to the hilt to ensure security for their people. However, despite Pakistan’s best efforts such attacks continue and are likely to persist as long as China is involved in the CPEC. Notably, through 2023, Pakistan suffered an increase in terrorism that began after the 2021 Taliban takeover in neighbouring Afghanistan and terrorist attacks surged by 70% between 2022 and 2023. The Afghanistan-based Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has perpetrated most of the attacks. This is the tragedy of Pakistan today; an elected Federal Government that is incapable of providing security and provincial governments that have little clue on how to handle such challenges.