Pakistan, April 9 -- More than 250 people shot dead in broad daylight because their lives paled in value to a mobile phone. At least a thousand others, wounded. This is Karachi, often referred to as Pakistan's commercial capital, but a city that has earned the unfortunate reputation of being Pakistan's crime capital.

The metropolitan's glaring lack of safety has, for the umpteenth time, made its way back into the limelight in the wake of a distressing report unveiled during a security briefing. With a directive from the Sindh High Court, urgent distress calls sent by human rights organisations and a criticism-laced "charge sheet" presented by MQM-P, there's little breathing space available to both the government and its law enforcement a...