Robber involved in murder of citizen on Eid arrested: police

• Citizen identified as Amir Sultan was killed on Eid.
• Suspects arrested with help of technical team, says Raza.
• Police trying to apprehend their third accomplice as well.

KARACHI: Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Police Asad Raza on Saturday said police carried out a raid in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Phase-II area and arrested the suspect involved in murder of a citizen upon resisting robbery attempt on an Eid ul Fitr day.

“After a shootout with South Police, two suspects were arrested in injured condition,” said Raza in a statement.

The citizen identified as Amir Sultan was killed during the robbery attempt on the third day of Eid, he said.

He said the suspects were arrested with the help of technical team. Arms and a motorcycle was recovered from their possession, he added.

The police officer said police were trying to apprehend their third accomplice as well. They were habitual criminals and were involved in several cases of robbery, the DIG South said.

Karachi continues to grapple with street crimes and 2025 has been no different to it.

The port city saw a staggering number of street crime cases disposed of in 2024, totalling 1,355, while convictions were secured in a meagre 83 instances.

This translates to an alarmingly low conviction rate of just 6.13%, raising serious concerns among legal experts about the efficacy of the justice system in addressing rampant street crime in the megalopolis, The News reported.

Official statistics reveal that a staggering 1,272 cases resulted in acquittals, representing 93.87% of the disposed cases. By the end of December, a substantial backlog of 2,921 street crime cases remained pending in Karachi courts.

The situation appears to have worsened compared to the previous year.

In 2023, while 2,583 cases were disposed of, the conviction rate stood at a slightly higher, but still concerning 10.96%, with 283 convictions and 2,300 acquittals (89.04%).

Meanwhile, a district-wise breakdown of the 2024 data highlights disparities across Pakistan's financial hub.

District East saw 444 cases disposed of, with only 42 convictions, resulting in a 9.46% conviction rate.

The situation was even more concerning in the Malir district, where courts decided 398 cases but secured convictions in a mere nine, yielding a shockingly low conviction rate of just 2.26%.

In District West, 219 cases were disposed of, with only seven (3.20%) leading to convictions and 212 ending in acquittals.

District Central courts disposed of 159 cases, convicting the accused in just nine cases (5.66%), while 150 resulted in acquittals.

District South courts decided 135 cases, of which only 16 (11.85%) ended in convictions, while 119 resulted in acquittals.

According to legal experts, this trend persists due to a number of factors, including flawed investigation, weak prosecution, and lack of concrete evidence.

Legal expert Shaukat Hayat attributes the low conviction rate to the failure of three key pillars of the criminal justice system — the police, prosecution, and courts — to fulfil their responsibilities.

He said that the police's failure to conduct a proper investigation and gather evidence was the main factor.