Islamabad - Despite tall claims of capital police high-ups, there is no let up in crimes in the city, suggests the data obtained by The Nation.

The data collected from different sources shows that thieves and burglars struck at more than 23 places in the capital areas during a period of just 20 days. Twenty-three incidents of burglary and snatching of valuables at gunpoint from the pedestrians in a period of just 20 days reflect a serious lack of police competency.

The number does not include the street crimes which went unregistered due to unwillingness of police to register those cases. The cases would cast a negative impression on their performance.

In majority cases, unknown persons are booked and the police remain clueless about the actual culprits. 

Shehzad Town and Margalla police registered three cases of burglary and theft each during the said period.

In one incident, two unknown persons in police uniform snatched cash from a person at gunpoint on GT Road in the premises of Tarnol police station. The area of Sabzi Mandi police station is a safe haven for the criminals where street crimes are rampant and police seem least interested in registering the cases.

As far as street crime is concerned, the capital city’s areas bordering Rawalpindi serve as a haven for the criminals who would cross into the sector I-10 in the night and make their escape with the items looted from pedestrians.

The pedestrians, who usually cross the green belt by foot, fall prey to the criminals who follow them to the middle of the belt to stop them and deprive them of their valuables. Such incidents touch peak in Ramazan when police is busy ensuring law and order in the city markets.

Majority of such cases go unreported since the police deliberately don’t register these cases suggesting instead that the pedestrians take a different route to cross the green belt at night. A large number of people cross the IJP Road everyday and the routine continues till midnight.

On the other hand, the police with the help of CDA staff have developed trenches at the crossing points to halt movement of pedestrians and bike-riders who want to cross the green belt.

The move is part of the police campaign to discourage pedestrians from crossing the belt except from the very few designated points. Rather than trying to capture the criminals , the police urges the pedestrians to use the one and only designated point for crossing where the police picket is set up; CDA Chowk. 

Interestingly, without making any arrests, headlines about busting gangs and nabbing criminals go to the media only to placate the citizens. In case of any recovered items, the victim has to go through a hassle to obtain them from the police. According to residents along the service road of I-10, the numbers of snatching incidents in the area have risen. Muhammad Tufail, who lives along the Service Road of I-10, told the correspondent that the residents witness a dozen such incidents every month. “Most of the victims do not report to the police because they are not locals,” he said.

When contacted, a police spokesman said that the police are striving to overcome street crime especially in the area bordering the garrison city. It goes without saying that law and order situation in the capital city is going from bad to worse rapidly and police high ups seem to be in a deep slumber.

The residents have been losing millions of rupees to the criminals every month and there is increasing sense of insecurity amongst the residents. Meanwhile, Islamabad police have arrested 20 outlaws including 15 beggars from various areas of the city and recovered hashish, heroin, mobile phone and weapons from their possession.