Peshawar – the gateway to Pakistan’s tribal hinterland, and Lahore – the home base of Sharif brothers are witnessing a steady rise in target killings, extortions and kidnappings.

Peshawar – the gateway to Pakistan’s tribal hinterland, and Lahore – the home base of Sharif brothers are witnessing a steady rise in target killings, extortions and kidnappings. Police and Army have failed to check the menace. The intervention of the judiciary has kept the law enforcers on their toes. Nothing more nothing less.
Yakatoot, Qazi Killay, Daudzai, Khazana areas in Peshawar and villages located on both sides of Charsadda Road and Warsak Road are witnessing target killings the most. The police men and security forces personnel are the victims.
On Sunday Sept 18, three security personnel were targeted when they were on way to a military dairy farm to bring milk. A few days earlier, a police sub-inspector, Mohammad Ibrahim, became victim of target killers in Akhunabad locality. High-profile individuals have also been attacked by the gangs of target killers.
A number of senior and junior officials of the law-enforcement agencies have been target-killed in Peshawar in recent months. Several others were hit by the roadside blasts. Apart from personnel of the security forces.
Peshawar Police has reportedly compiled a list of suspects, and rounded up some of them. Police however concede that key suspects are still at large, and they are operating in and around Peshawar.
A not so new menace is the extortion calls. “Unknown” callers have been warning well-off citizens in Peshawar to “arrange” money or face the consequences.
Letters were distributed among the traders on the Ring Road the other day asking them to arrange extortion money. Many are still receiving calls, mostly from Afghan cellular phone numbers, reports The News International.
Significantly, in most of the cases, both the Police and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) have failed to provide security to those receiving threats. Normally, such victims are asked to install closed circuit television cameras around their residences and offices, hire guards and restrict their movement. The only ‘favour’ that the police provide to the victims is issuing one, two or three-month permits to carry arms for their security, the daily reports.
“The permits are issued for only three months so the victims have to ask for the ‘favour’ again and again. In such cases, these permits should be issued for at least one year,” a victim remarked ruefully.
The situation in Lahore, known as the cultural capital of the country, is much more bizarre. Here school children are increasingly abducted. This danger has become pronounced in other cities and towns of the province ruled by Prime Minister’s brother Shahbaz Sharif.

A Lahore cop on duty

The situation has become so dangerous that some aggrieved citizens felt the need to knock at the doors of the judiciary. The Lahore High Court has since set up a committee to come up a blue print on security for school going children. The committee is also tasked to suggest steps to stop illegal transplantation of children’s organs, which has become a thriving trade.
Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah also issued a slew of orders directing the appointment of security guards in buses, vans and rickshaws used for transportation of school children.
This is not judicial activism or PIL- Public Interest Litigation at its best. Because, during the hearing, the Punjab Police blandly admitted that 66 children were missing. “We are making efforts for their recovery”. How soon? The Police has no reply. These are not blind cases though. Submit a report on how many you recovered in the past five years, the CJ directed the Police.
The Shahbaz Police faced flak for inaction on another front. “Illegal transplantation of organs takes place in private institutions owned by influential people Faisal Masood, Administrator of Punjab Human Transplant Authority, told the High Court. “Police know them but dare not arrest them”, he remarked as much in a lament as a charge against Police inaction.
The matter has been posted for further hearing on Oct 5.