During the first 10 months of this year, Punjab, the largest province of Pakistan by population, remained a hotbed of crime. Due to murders, kidnappings, robberies and incidents of thefts, the citizens could not sleep peacefully. Unfortunately, the same pattern continued this year.
According to the figures obtained by Punjab Police, more than 3,000 cases of murders were reported in the province during the first 10 months of the year. Similarly, there were 8,081 attempted murders and 10,040 cases of fights. As many as 12,300 incidents of kidnapping and 65 cases of kidnapping for ransom continued to make the citizens fearful.
Criminal elements deprived citizens of property worth billions of rupees and there were more than 14,000 registered cases of robberies, 20,200 of car snatching and theft, and 6,000 cases of cattle theft.
Despite these alarming figures, Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat is satisfied with the law and order situation and police officials also attribute the rise in crime to timely and increasing first information reports’ (FIR) registration. Contrary to these explanations of the concerned authorities, the people of Punjab were forced to live under the shadow of fear even this year due to lack of protection of property and life.
“The large-scale upheaval in Punjab Police did not reduce crime rate and the top officials seem to have decided not only to increase crime, but also to provide full protection to the perpetrators of serious crimes. When strict, ruthless and fact-based laws against crime will not be made and no mechanism will be laid down to bring the criminals to justice, then how is it possible to ensure the elimination of crime and criminals from the province?” a source within the police commented on the matter.
“Is it not clear to the rulers that people are no longer complaining about their theft, robbery, oppression and even murder to the concerned institutions? Rather, they have begun to prefer to avenge the injustice done to them. The loss of public confidence in every institution is a matter of grave concern and taking the law into one’s own hands is a prelude to great destruction,” the source added.
A senior police official from Central Police Office (CPO) informed this scribe that although the crime rate in Punjab had increased in the first six months of this year, especially after the lockdown, it was also due to population growth and the economic crisis during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Undoubtedly, the incidents of robbery and burglary had increased in Punjab during this period. According to the police records, the crime rate may come down as it is common in Punjab like other provinces not to register such incidents which is unfortunate. But I think it is more appropriate to prosecute all kinds of crimes because in this way, crime prevention measures can be improved,” he suggested.
The official also claimed that Lahore, despite being a city of 150 million population, lags far behind other major cities in the world in terms of peaceful and serious crime.
“If you look at the crime rate in New York, London, Bombay, Chicago or Delhi, it is much higher than Lahore. The kind of dangerous crimes that takes place in these cities and the kind of organised gangs that are found there – such a network has not been found here yet. The increase in crime in Lahore is more natural than before, but it is not so dangerous that it cannot be controlled. Most of the culprits involved in crimes in Punjab and Lahore are caught. However, their number is not high while there has been no major robbery or organised theft and no organized robbery gangs operate in Lahore,” he maintained.
“Punjab police is quite successful in controlling crime according to its resources while the people themselves also catch the criminals many times more than in other countries,” the official continued.
With crime rates soaring, citizens say the authorities will have to implement police reform claims before they can be turned into crime hotspots.
