These horrifying stories were widely published in local newspapers and whispered at tea stalls and bus stations: Another day of armed robbery left another person dead in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city.
Last Wednesday, a car mechanic was shot dead by robbers who tried to steal his mobile phone. The day before, robbers killed a second-hand shoe seller who refused to hand over his mobile phone and a businessman who had just withdrawn cash from a bank in two separate incidents. A few days ago, robbers killed a 27-year-old mechanical engineer and stole his mobile phone, cash and motorcycle.
A surge in violent crime in Karachi, Pakistan’s economic powerhouse, has fueled a sense that no part of the metropolis of 20 million people is safe, with many fearing a return to its violent and chaotic past. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has called for a “massive crackdown” on street criminals.
“Every time I go out, I live in fear of being robbed,” said Shamim Ali, a 43-year-old factory worker who has been robbed twice in recent months. “Criminals are acting with impunity in broad daylight.”
The number of reported homicides, extortions and motorcycle thefts has nearly doubled this year compared with the same period last year, according to the government-backed Citizens’ Police Liaison Committee. Police records show at least 58 people were killed in robberies in the first five months of 2024, nearly double the number in the same period of 2023. Rights advocates say the true toll of violent crime is likely higher because many victims are reluctant to report crimes.
Experts and police officials say the main reason for the crime surge is that Pakistan is suffering its worst economic crisis in decades, with soaring debt, a widening trade deficit and record inflation. Another factor is record floods and other natural disasters in 2022, which caused tens of thousands of farmers to flock to cities in search of work. But few have found work.
Activists say desperation has deepened among the city’s poorest as a collapsing economy and a surging population strain the local government’s ability to provide basic services such as water and sanitation.
Qazi Khirzer, deputy chairman of Pakistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission, said rising crime was the result of “systemic injustice and the government’s failure to take responsibility.” He added: “Decades of neglect of the city have created a pressure cooker that is ready to explode.”
Police officials say the desperation has breathed new life into the city’s criminal gangs, which have found new recruits among the swelling ranks of young people. Some of the robberies-turned-murders are also linked to militant groups that have resurfaced in other parts of the country in recent years, said Raja Umar Khattab, a senior officer in the Karachi police’s counterterrorism department.
Ali, a factory worker, was robbed twice recently. He said the latest robbery took place around 9 a.m. one morning at a place he frequents for breakfast in a low-income neighborhood. He was drinking tea when four armed robbers broke in.
According to Mr. Ali, the thieves shouted, “Hand over your phones and wallets!” and warned customers not to resist. Within minutes, the thieves had taken valuables from more than two dozen people in the store.
The surge in violence has taken the city back to about a decade ago, when Armed factions of political parties, Taliban militants Criminal gangs control much of the city, and turf wars between them often spill into the streets. Nightly television news broadcasts are filled with reports of murders. Family members check on each other every day to make sure they are alive after get off work. Others rarely leave the house.
A paramilitary-led drive to expel the militants restored order in 2013. The number of murders plummeted from about 3,100 in 2012 to 508 in 2020, police data show.
Now, however, fear and anger have returned. “It seems the government has abandoned the residents of Karachi to the mercy of the robbers,” said Syed Akhtar Hussain, 70, whose 38-year-old son Syed Ali Rebar was attacked and shot dead by robbers while delivering food for a ride-hailing app in January.
On a recent afternoon at a bustling tea stall off a main road in Karachi, dozens of taxi drivers, traders and university students chatted in the shade of trees over steaming cups of tea. Almost everyone watched the street warily, suspecting that any passing motorcyclist might be a robber in disguise.
“Before 2014, we worried about stray bullets from ethnic violence and gang wars,” said Muhammad Zaheer, 33, a computer trader. “Security operations brought a few years of peace, but now the fear is different. Street criminals won’t hesitate to kill you if you refuse to hand over your phone.”
Social media has only heightened our collective anxiety, with new videos circulating every day showing robbers brazenly snatching valuables in broad daylight on busy streets, in restaurants, at traffic lights, in barbershops and even in mosques.
As public anger mounts, political leaders are scrambling for solutions. Officials have introduced regulations to control the sale of second-hand cellphones and motorcycles — items that are often targeted for looting. The city’s mayor, Murtaza Wahab, has pledged to install thousands of surveillance cameras. Others, including the provincial governor and certain political parties and business associations, have called for tougher measures, including military intervention and the issuance of gun licenses so residents can protect themselves.
Last month, President Zardari directed the provincial government to launch a crackdown on Karachi’s street criminals, but the operation has yet to begin and experts warn that the crackdown could exacerbate the problem.
“Historically, putting pressure on police to achieve quick results has led to violence and coercion, such as deliberate conflict killings, torture in custody, arbitrary detention and shoot-to-kill,” said Zoha Waseem, an expert on Pakistani policing at the University of Warwick in the UK. She added: “Police responses are not a long-term solution.”
Public trust in the police, already eroded by years of corruption and inefficiency, plummeted after dozens of officers were implicated in street crimes. In January alone, more than 55 Karachi police officers faced suspension for alleged involvement in criminal gangs or receiving kickbacks.
Some residents decided to take the matter into their own hands, leading to a worrying increase in lynchings.
Last Wednesday, a mob angry about looting chased two fleeing men, killing one and injuring another. The day before, a mob lynched another man suspected of robbery. Three days ago, police narrowly rescued three robbery suspects.
“Growing public discontent is dangerously normalizing mob violence that punishes on mere suspicion, putting innocent people and criminals at risk,” said Muhammad Nafees, an expert on crime and violence at the Islamabad-based Center for Security Studies.
