KARACHI: Children in Karachi are carrying out street crimes instead of being given the opportunity to receive an education.
Karachi police arrested a five-member group involved in criminal activity, with two members aged 11 and 14.
A CCTV video from last month shows the 11-year-old being accompanied by other group members taking part in an attempted phone snatching.
The group is involved in multiple street crimes and police said one of the members is linked to a murder.
Zeeshan, a 25-year-old member of the group was killed during a confrontation with police.
Street crime has been on the rise in Karachi, leading to the Police announcing the start of a grand operation. The city’s Police chief, Mushtaq Maher told journalists on Jan 3, that street crime was now Karachi’s biggest concern.
The menace of street crime continues to plague the metropolis even after years of an ongoing operation to curb crime in the city was launched.
According to statistical data on various crimes reported in Karachi, maintained by the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), over one thousand mobile phones were snatched in any given month with the highest in January 2016 when nearly 1,600 mobile phones were snatched.
According to sources there are certain hotspots where street crime continues unabated, they include areas between Golimar and New Karachi, Liquatabad to Yousuf Plaza, Kala Pul to Korangi and Defence Library, Gulshan-e-Iqbal (Sabzi Mandi) to Malir Cantonment.
