The slum areas in Karachi have become a threat for law and order in the city as criminals have sought refuge in these areas.
According to a report, more than 600 slum areas located within the centre of the city’s posh areas as well as in suburban areas have become safe havens for the outlaws. Sohrab Goth, Manghopir, Afghan Basti and Pehlwan Basti are among a few slums hosting criminals in the metropolis.
There is no proper coordinating system to monitor the slum areas which are posing major threat to the city’s safety.
The most expensive residence in a slum costs up to Rs 3,000 per month. The people living in the slums have been handed over official identity papers but the names and addresses of the people living in these areas could not be verified.
It is pertinent to add that the suspects, who carried out aerial firing following the attack on Karachi Airport in 2014, were hiding in the slums of the surrounding area.
Additional Inspector General Mushtaq Mehar said that around 60 to 65 per cent of Karachi’s population lived in the slum areas and it is difficult for the authorities to trace the criminals in the slums as the details mentioned on their identification papers are incorrect. Several mobile SIMs are also issued on the national ID cards with incorrect details.
The state institutions do not get the proper record of the people living in the slums as National Database and Registration Authority does not mention proper details on their national identity cards.
