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Beyond the symptoms

Tuesday, Mar 26, 2024

In response to the rapid rise in crime in Sindh over the past month or so, law-enforcement agencies are busy cracking down on criminals, as usual. However, as always, this policy does not deal with the crime problem on a long-term basis. Given this scenario, the authorities must revisit their approach to crime and think about why past efforts have failed to deliver the desired results.

Crime cannot be eliminated by killing or jailing criminals. Rehabilitation is necessary to change the status quo. At present, we are simply addressing criminals and not crime, which is a socio-economic phenomenon. The former are merely a symptom of the latter. The government must come up with ways to address the root causes of crime such as poverty, inequality and lack of access to basic amenities.

Ali Gul Tanwari

Khairpur