Though the law and order situation all over the country is not satisfactory but a fresh data on 27 crime categories falling under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) belies the tall claims of Punjab government and also rejects general perceptions on the subject. In the month of October 2011, most crimes among the monitored categories were registered in Punjab followed by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sindh and Balochistan. If we go by the data, perceptions also seemed to be totally different from reality. The law and order situation in Punjab is considered to be the most appreciable as compared to other provinces of the country, but the report speaks otherwise. Twenty-two percent of the total crime registered in 73 districts across the country was registered in only three districts of Punjab, with Faisalabad taking the lead followed by Gujranwala and Multan. On the other hand, Balochistan, which is generally considered the worst in terms of security, has registered less crime than other provinces in October.
According to the report, most crimes were reported in Faisalabad district in October 2011, constituting 11 percent of the total 32,021 first information reports (FIRs) registered against 27 crimes in 73 districts nationwide. The FIRs lodged in the district were against crimes such as murder, attempted murder, injuries, robbery, criminal trespassing, criminal breach of trust, counterfeit currency notes, theft, motor vehicle lifting and forced marriages. Car theft has been the most irritating problem for the residents of Faisalabad, but the authorities concerned are yet to curb the crime.
Two other districts of Punjab, Gujranwala (7 percent) and Multan (4 percent), were the second and third most crime reporting districts respectively. Higher figures of registered crimes in Punjab can be attributed to better outreach, dense population and the absence of parallel judicial systems in the province. The report included 73 districts across the country with 25 districts of Punjab, 20 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 17 of Sindh and 11 of Balochistan, while covering FIRs registered for 27 offences falling under the PPC in October 2011. The report reveals that among different categories, crime related to property was the most frequently reported (17 percent), followed by reported cases of physical harm (11 percent) and threat and fraud (7 percent).
Four percent of the total FIRs registered in October last year fall in the category of ‘crime against women’, which is also an alarming situation especially in the presence of pro-women legislation. Crimes against women constituted four percent of the total FIRs. Of the 781 FIRs lodged for crimes against women, 33 percent were registered for forced marriages with the highest numbers being recorded in district Faisalabad (42), followed by Gujranwala (40) and Sahiwal (37). Twenty-seven percent of the total FIRs for crimes against women were those of rape (24 percent for assault or criminal force threatening the modesty of a woman, 12 percent for offences related to marriage and 4 percent for honour killings). Several cases of honour killings were also registered in the four provinces. In Sindh 15 FIRs were registered of which six were in Shikarpur, three in Kamber Shahdadkot, two in Ghotki and one each in Khairpur, Larkana, Naushahro Feroze and Sukkur.
Of the registered crimes, 2, 014 FIRs were filed in 61 districts for theft, followed by 1,702 FIRs for physical injuries in 64 districts, and 1,294 reports lodged in 36 districts for counterfeit currency and bank notes. As many as 726 FIRs for murder were reported in 68 of the 73 districts monitored and 794 for attempted murder in 67 districts.
