Boom in karachi

Boom in karachi

On the last day of a week-long trip to Karachi, our mini bus driver showed us three bullets — two dead and one live. The bullets were fired into the air by a reveller while celebrating the Sindhi cultural day on the lanes of Sadar Bazaar. We were surprised and amused that we could hold and closely inspect the bullets openly on the streets of a global city. Though we toyed with the idea of getting hold of one of the bullets as a souvenir, we were warned about the repercussions at the airport. During our stay in Karachi, we could spot gun toting security personnel everywhere we went. While sub inspectors in India fight for a pistol, the constables on duty on the streets of Pakistan hold AK-47s and AK-56s. Even private security guards at five star hotels, restaurants and malls possess sub machine guns and modern G-5s. Karachi has only 15,000 policemen for a population of 18 million (as against Mumbai’s 44,000 policemen for 13 million people) and the shortage is one of the reasons why private agencies have boomed in the city. Private persons and businessmen no longer rely on the state police force. According to a fellow journalist in Karachi, private security agencies are hired by people, for incidents of house-breaking and robbery at gunpoint are common in all major cities of Pakistan. In fact, we were asked to not display our mobile phones in public. In addition to this, half the force is busy servicing politicians and influential personalities in the city. Media advisor to the chief minister of Sindh, Qaim Ali Shah, has two AK-47 toting gunmen around her all the time. Mighty political parties have their own security to protect prime areas. For instance, the headquarters of Muttahida Quomi Movement (MQM) dons the face of a fortress as laymen are not allowed to enter. CCTVs and security men are posted at all corners of the headquarters. The party, run by Altaf Hussain who has been in exile for more than 20 years, operates in top secrecy. Other political parties have safeguarded their residential areas where police and even paramilitary forces are not allowed to enter. The Jinnah tomb in Karachi is protected by a team of eight military jawans around the clock. Vehicular traffic is restricted in areas surrounding Qaim Ali Shah’s residence. Our delegation was escorted by gun bearing policemen and an escort van. I asked a policeman when the last time he opened fire from his AK-47 was, and he said a couple of months ago on a mob resorting to hooliganism. It was shocking to learn that constables do not need the order of their superiors to open fire. At first, I was surprised to see the escort guard our van all the time. But a clash between a fidayeen group and the police, barely a few metres away from where dinner was scheduled, claimed the lives of two police constables. However, towards the end of the tour, the escort left the team to be on its own. When I questioned a couple of officers about this, none of them had answers. Perhaps it was convenient for them to stay mum.