Karachi, March 13 : Pakistan's financial capital Karachi continues to witness a surge in crime rate as armed robbers looted Rs 1.15 million in cash from the staff of the Peoples' Bus Service in Gulshan-e-Hadeed late Wednesday night. They later escaped with the cash, weapons and mobile phones. According to the driver, the robbery took place at the last stop of the bus service, where the staff was resting.

Elaborating on the incident, the driver of the bus said six assailants arrived in a vehicle, and four armed men forced them inside the bus at gunpoint before looting Rs 1.15 million in cash, local media reported.

Last week, three armed robbers stormed a shop and looted mobile phones, cash, and other valuables in Karachi. Despite the presence of several people at the shop, the robbers managed to escape without facing any resistance, Pakistan's Express Tribune reported.

2025 is turning out to be no different than 2024 for residents of Karachi in terms of rampant street crime incidents, which have resulted in the death of at least 19 people since January in the provincial capital.

According to a Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) report, citizens of Karachi reported theft of 3,773 motorcycles and 195 cars across the metropolis in February. Noting that 36 people were killed in separate incidents, the report said that as many as 1,402 mobile phones were snatched in Karachi last month, reported Geo News.

According to the data released by the Pakistani Police last year, more than 250 people in Karachi were shot dead and 1,052 others were wounded by street criminals between 2022 and 2024. Several analysts had expressed deep concern over Karachi sliding towards lawlessness as robbers killed over 250 citizens in three years.

Karachi's Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon stated last year that incidents of street crime in Karachi and kidnapping for ransom cases in the riverine area of Sindh created a "perception" that the law enforcement agency was failing to maintain law and order.

Many families in Karachi have lost their loved ones to street crimes, while others continue to live in fear of being the next victims. Most citizens claim that no street in the metropolis is safe, as they remain vulnerable to street criminals even amid bustling markets and broad daylight, Geo News reported.

/IANS