Social crimes in Lyari town, an extremely neglected part of Karachi, have increased manifold and now reached such an extent that many families are compelled to migrate from the area as it has almost turned into a "No Go Area" of the city.
There is no rule of law and the town has been divided into small pockets, under sway of bullies.
Instances of Car and Motorcycle lifting, mobile snatching, road robbery, burglary and armed dacoity are so common that the local residents have become used to them.
So much so, small shops, tailors, hawkers, milkman, are not spared by the dacoits. Another type of gangs active in the area are "Bhatha Groups", who extort money from contractors, transporters, mill owners, traders etc. Similarly, all type of drugs, arms and ammunition, smuggled, as well as indigenous liquor are easily available in the area.
But the real threat to peace and security of the local residents is being posed by two notorious, fatal and powerful dacoit groups, as both the said groups belong to the Mafia of the underworld and their workers are well trained and equipped with sophisticated weapons.
The two groups are presently at dagger drawn and their bloody clashes has claimed 110 lives of innocent people during the last six months, including women and children. Local police keep themselves aloof from the entire situation and have left the population of 1 million people at the mercy of these criminals.
S.H.O. Kalakot Police Station, in an interview published in a newspaper, expressed their inability to combat with the well equipped and well trained criminals of Lyari with only 8 constables posted in the Police Station and one Mobile, which most of the time remains out of order.
After 10.00 pm the streets of the area become deserted and are occupied by gangsters to carry out illegal activities. They put obstacles to check every passer-by and in case of any suspicion do not hesitate to murder the unfortunate person, who might have stepped out of his home by mistake or in an emergent situation.
The mental agony of the people has further deepened as one of the said groups has imposed a ban on the burial of dead bodies belonging to the areas dominated by his opponent in Mewa Shah Cemetery, which is presently under his control.
The height of helplessness of the poor residents can be gauged from the misery that "one kills and another does not allow to lay the dead body to rest."
The most perturbing aspect of the case is the lethargic attitude of administrative authorities of the city, who are not taking any notice of frequent killings of innocent people due to gang war between the above referred gangs, details of which are regularly published in newspapers. The other day after a little boy had died in an incident in Alladin Park, the City Nazim, expressed his anger and displeasure's over the incident.
This was followed by D.C.O. and Capital City Police Chief, Tariq Jamil who ordered for early arrest of those responsible for the death of the boy. This prompt reaction of higher authorities deserves appreciation but why is there no response to more than 100 killings in Lyari. Are they not human beings or do they not have equal human rights. Abandoned by the government, the inhabitants of Lyari Town are right to think that they have been left at the mercy of criminals.
It is high time that the Chief Minister and Governor of Sindh take due cognisance of the situation prevalent in Lyari, posing a great threat to the lives of I million innocent people to personally intervene in the matter and initiate a clean up operation in the affected areas through Rangers or Pak Army exterminate anti-social elements and save the lives and properties of innocent people by restoring peace and stability in the area.