Women lawmakers robbed in Karachi

Karachi: Four Pakistani women lawmakers were held up at gunpoint on one of the busiest streets in Karachi on Tuesday night, reinforcing the city's reputation as Pakistan's crime capital and one of the most violent places in Asia.

Gunmen robbed the women of their cell phones, cash and jewellery after forcing their car to stop.

The victims were all members of the Sindh provincial assembly and belonged to the ruling Mutthaida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Sultan Khawaja, a senior police official told Reuters.

Police receive over 100 complaints a day from people who say they have had cell phones and money snatched by armed thieves waiting at traffic signals, by bus stops or shop entrances. Robbers have sometimes shot their victims for resisting.

The Citizens Police Liasion Committee (CPLC), a neighbourhood watch project, estimates that over 50,000 cell phones had been stolen in Karachi during the last 12 months.

Poverty, unemployment, overcrowding and migration from the countryside are behind the crime wave, according to Sharfuddin Memon, the CPLC chief.