ISLAMABAD: Karachi – Pakistan’s megacity – is famous for many things. One of them is the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi, which, people say, keeps the city safe from cyclones. It also has two rivers – Malir and Lyari – that even those living along them do not recognize as rivers. Although London has only one – Thames – it is seemingly in a competition with our Karachi in another field: mobile snatching.
Interestingly, official data released by the Metropolitan Police – commonly known as Scotland Yard – show that the number of mobile phone theft cases in Westminster, officially the City of Westminster which is just a borrow in Greater London, topped 34,000 in 2024. To be precise, the reported cases are 34,203.
Meanwhile, the infamous Karachi had around 18,000 reported cases of mobile snatching as per the – far less than Westminster, the winner. The data is from the Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC).
One cannot ignore the fact that Westminster is located Central London, covering a small area of 21.48 square kilometres with a population of over 210,000.
It is famous for the landmarks Buckingham Palace, Whitehall, Westminster Cathedral, 10 Downing Street and Trafalgar Square. Certainly, London needs an Islamabad-like Red Zone.
MASSIVE KARACHI VS LITTLE WESTMINSTER
On the other hand, the figure of 18,000 or so is for entire Karachi, which nobody knows houses how many people and where does it begins or ends.
Some may argue that many crimes go unreported in Karachi, like other parts of Pakistan. But the fact of the matter is Westminster is just a neighbourhood. And even one single locality of London is the winner in the mobile snatching and theft.
Meanwhile, the sadists among us may claim some that technology is responsible for the rising crime rate. Everyone is now a target only because he or she is having a mobile phone.
On the other hand, London like other urban centres of the United Kingdom is witnessing the scourge of knife crimes. The reason is the laws to curb firearms are very strict in the United Kingdom and other European countries.