Crime rate in Karachi has decreased: Additional IG

KARACHI: The Additional IG of Sindh, Azad Khan, has said that the policies formulated by the Sindh IG are being implemented rapidly, as a result of which the crime rate in Karachi has decreased significantly compared to the past. He said that the country was currently facing terrorist networks. However, Sindh Police had overcome the threats of terrorism through effective strategies and had kept the situation under control despite security alert. Speaking at a meeting of the Federal B Area Association of Trade and Industry (FBAATI), he said that two major kidnapping-for-ransom and extortion networks were busted in Karachi, and action was taken against them, while some criminal groups were running their networks from abroad, whose arrest and repatriation efforts had been intensified. He said that the network of drug dealers in the city had spread to an alarming extent, especially its activities were increasing in schools and colleges. Sindh Police were focusing on the use of modern technology. He said around 1, 300 cameras had been installed so far under the Karachi Safe City project and 2, 000 more cameras were being installed. He said that in view of traffic problems, the e-challan system had been introduced. However, lack of mass transit system and encroachments in the city were also some of the major obstacles in the flow of traffic. To eliminate encroachments, an integrated system was being introduced which would start from District Central. He said that investigation into the Ali Raza case would be completed on the basis of evidence and facts, saying that unemployment was also one of the main reasons for the increase in street crimes. FBAATI President Sheikh Tahseen expressed concern over the law and order situation in industrial areas and said that “the land mafia is involved in encroachments on industrial plots in the industrial zones of Karachi”, while there was also an increase in extortion incidents. He claimed that extortion network was becoming increasingly active in the industrial areas, which was causing fear and panic among the industrialists. Sheikh Tahseen said that the Karachi Safe City project had not yet been fully and effectively activated, therefore, the use of modern surveillance technology with the cooperation of Sindh Police had become indispensable to make FBAATI a model zone. He further said that the establishment of interprovincial bus stands near the industrial areas and the rapid increase in illegal rickshaw stands had created new problems for traffic, security and industrial activities, for which the relevant institutions would have to adopt a joint strategy. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

Read full story on Business Recorder