ISLAMABAD: The federal capital continues to grapple with a troubling spike in various kinds of crimes, as recent data reveals a sharp rise in carjacking, robberies, and other violent crimes across the city.
According to figures obtained by Business Recorder, Islamabad witnessed 55 cases of carjacking over the past week alone. These included the theft or snatching of 47 motorcycles and eight cars.
In addition to vehicle-related crimes, police also reported 14 cases of armed robbery, eight incidents of street crime—including mobile phone and cash snatching at gunpoint—one murder, and the grim discovery of a body found hanging from a pole, prompting fears of a targeted or brutal killing.
Criminal gangs appear to be particularly active in areas under the jurisdiction of the Karachi Company, Shalimar, Sabzi Mandi, Shehzad Town, and Aabpara police stations, which have emerged as hotspots for criminal activity.
Among the week’s most alarming incidents was a violent spree by four armed men who first stormed a bakery in Sara-i-Kharbooza. The suspects held two employees, Abdullah and Waqas Ahmed, at gunpoint and fled with Rs20,000 in cash and two mobile phones. The same gang then targeted three more individuals on the road—robbing Asher Shahzad of Rs27,000, snatching a mobile phone from Jhad Ali, and shooting Shoukat Ullah when he resisted the robbery attempt.
In a separate gruesome case, two suspects in custody of police injured an encounter when five persons opened firing at the police with intention to set free the two suspects from the police custody. As per detail was sixth ‘encounter’ this month during which a suspect was killed while seven were injured.
Further, during the last week, Karachi Company police registered five cases of motorcycle theft, two cases of car theft and one case street crime; one case of street crime and cases of auto theft were reported to Industrial Area police station.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025