The president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and industry, Muffasar Atta Malik, and chairman of the Businessmen Group, and former president Siraj Kassam Teli have urged Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Home Minister Sohail Anwer Siyal, DG Rangers Major General Mohammad Saeed and IG Sindh AD Khowaja that instead of issuing notice and seeking report of hand-grenade attack at Kharadar Cloth Market incident, they must order firm action this time in order to provide relief to the business community.
They while strongly condemning the hand grenade attack at Kharadar Cloth Market in which an elderly citizen was killed and five people were injured, urged the Sindh government and the law enforcing agencies to save small traders and shopkeepers from the extortion mafia, which is responsible for sabotaging peace and security in Karachi by creating fear across the city.
They said that extortionists, who are attempting to once again plunge Karachi into the darkness of insecurity and lawlessness, have to be apprehended at any cost. They said that the law-enforcers must devise more effective strategies to wipe out extortionists and provide foolproof security to the business and industrial community, particularly the small traders and shopkeepers of Old City areas who continue to receive threats and are being victimized by the extortion mafia.
They said that Extortion Mafia elements were fearlessly carrying out their activities at some of the busiest markets of the city during broad daylight, which clearly highlights lapses of the police and the rangers.
Law enforcers, including the Rangers Sindh have been urging shopkeepers and small traders to refrain from paying extortion money and assuring them to provide security to their lives and businesses. But from the constant threats by mafia and the recent incident in Kharadar Market, it appears that the perturbed shopkeepers are at the mercy of extortionists as any refusal to meet their demands usually results in dire consequences, they said.
The chairman of the BMG and president of the KCCI further noted that small traders and shopkeepers are in a confused situation, as on the one hand they are constantly receiving threats from the extortion mafia and on the other, they are being detained by the Rangers on charges of facilitating extortion activities.
But to save their own lives and their business, shopkeepers are compelled to pay extortion money as they don't see any hope for provision of security either by the police or the Rangers, and , the incident in Kharadar Cloth Market was a hot topic immediately after the hand grenade was hurled, they said.
The Rangers and Police know that most extortion activities, including the recent one, have been carried out by a particular gang based in Lyari, so it is difficult to see what stops them from taking strong action against the culprits, they said.
The police and the Rangers must take practical and effective measures to put an end to the rising extortion activities and provide full security to all the markets of the city, they said. Otherwise, they warned, the situation would lead to trust deficit and damage the image of the police and the Rangers, who did a splendid job in the Karachi Operation to restore peace to some extent. But they have partially remained unsuccessful in dealing with the rising activities of the extortion mafia and with street crimes.
Expressing appreciation for shopkeepers of Kharadar Cloth Market who refused to give extortion money, which led to the hurling of the hand grenade, Siraj Teli and Muffasar Malik asked small traders and shopkeepers of all markets to immediately report to the KCCI any extortion threat, so that its Sub-Committee on Law and Order could privately take up and pursue such cases with the police and the Rangers.
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