It seems that the rising crime rate and the increasing inflation have a direct relationship …. Writes Dr Sakariya Kareem
Pakistan’s growing lawlessness is often becoming evident from quirky incidents like the recent robbery that took place in Punjab where two underage boys posed as wedding guests and left with money, mobile phones and other valuables from the venue by switching off the power.
The robbers looted in the darkness of the wedding hall, an episode hinting at the plight of common people in the country and the desperation of the youth.
They even did not leave the bride’s purse before escaping the venue. The wallet, media reports in Pakistan said, contained not just an expensive mobile phone but nearly two million in cash.
It seems that the financially struggling Pakistan and rising inflation rates are behind the uptick in crimes.
One of the focal points of crime in Pakistan remains Karachi.
More than 250 Karachiites were shot dead and 1,052 others were wounded by street criminals between 2022 and March 28, 2024, data presented before a high-level security meeting in Pakistan showed as quoted by Dawn News.
Police sources told Dawn News that a significant increase in violent street crimes was registered over the past three years.
They said before 2022 the number of people killed by muggers stood at around 30, but the figure increased manifold when a total of 111 citizens were killed by muggers in the 12 months of 2022.
Senior police officials rightly attributed the increase in violent street crimes to skyrocketing inflation and growing economic difficulties in the last three years.
The developments reflected that people were losing hope in the police and other administrators.
Former CPLC chief Sharafuddin Memon told Dawn that citizens had also lost confidence in law enforcers and started resisting robbers.
The spiking crime scenario of the country is evident from details obtained by The Express Tribune in January which showed rate of incidence of crimes like theft, robbery, mobile snatching, kidnapping for ransom, and sexual violence has registered a 15 to 30 per cent spike during the past five years across multiple cities in Punjab.
Lahore ranks number one with the highest number of reported cases, followed by Gujranwala, Sheikupura, Multan, Faisalabad, and Rawalpindi.
Inflation crisis
It seems that the rising crime rate and the increasing inflation have a direct relationship.
In its recent observation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has put Pakistan’s economic growth forecast unchanged at 2% but increased the inflation projection to nearly 25% for this fiscal year.
The recent report of a jobless man killing his family in Pakistan highlights how unemployment undermines Pakistan
A desperate man in Pakistan this April in the month of Ramadan killed his wife and seven children with a grass-cutting cleaver in the Mud Wala area within the premises of Saddar Police Station in Alipur district of Muzaffargarh in Punjab province, before surrendering himself to the police.
According to local media reports, the horrific event is believed to be driven by poverty and joblessness which has become a rising threat to the country’s population, especially the graduate youths.
According to experts, factors such as rapid population growth, a lack of quality education, economic instability, and insufficient job opportunities contribute to the high unemployment rate in Pakistan, and the consequences of unemployment include poverty, social unrest, increased crime rates, and a decline in overall economic growth.
The Express Tribune quoting Asian Development Bank (ADB) reported that Pakistan has the highest living cost in all of Asia with a 25% inflation rate and its economy may grow at the fourth lowest pace of 1.9% in the region. report.
The report said the Asian Development Outlook also painted a gloomy picture for the next fiscal year as well, projecting 15% inflation rate which will be the highest among 46 countries.