KARACHI: In yet another incident highlighting the growing lawlessness in the city, armed robbers looted Rs 8 million from two employees of an electric company in the Saddar area yesterday.

According to police, Salman, who works at an electric company near Native Jetty Bridge in West Wharf, had sent two of his employees to withdraw Rs80 lakh from a Meezan Bank branch in Keamari.

The employees reached Meezan Bank’s Keamari branch around 4:00 pm. After waiting for some time, the bank’s operations manager, Imran, informed them that the branch did not have sufficient cash available. He further told them that arrangements had been discussed with Meezan Bank’s Panorama Centre branch in Saddar and advised them to proceed there to collect the amount.

The employees arrived at the Panorama Centre branch near Atrium Mall at approximately 5:00 pm and completed the withdrawal by 5:30 pm, carrying the cash in a black bag.

As they reached near the Ruby Jewellers traffic signal on Zeb-un-Nissa Street, two armed men riding a motorcycle intercepted them, snatched the cash at gunpoint, and fled the scene. Police said the suspects were wearing shalwar kameez and appeared to be between 35 and 40 years old.

Acting SHO Preedy, Inspector Shah Faisal Khan, confirmed that a case has been registered against unidentified suspects on the complaint of Salman. He said police are attempting to identify the robbers through CCTV footage obtained from the crime scene and surrounding areas.

IG Sindh Takes Notice

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sindh, Javed Alam Odho, has taken notice of the incident and sought a detailed report from the Additional Inspector General of Police, Karachi. He directed authorities to utilize all available resources, including modern technology, to arrest the culprits at the earliest.

Rising Crime Alarms Citizens

The incident comes amid a sharp rise in robbery cases across Karachi, causing widespread concern among residents.

A few days earlier, robbers looted Rs3.3 million from a petrol pump near Korangi Singer Chowrangi. Police said the cashier was on his way to deposit cash at a bank without a security guard when the suspects struck and escaped.

On January 26, a group of seven armed men stormed a residence in the Korangi Industrial Area and carried out a brazen robbery that lasted for nearly one and a half hours. According to police, the suspects forcibly entered the house, threatened the occupants at gunpoint, and took complete control of the premises. The male members of the family were tied up to prevent resistance, while the robbers searched the house room by room.

During the prolonged ordeal, the suspects looted 25 tolas of gold, Rs300,000 in cash, and a large quantity of expensive clothing and footwear before fleeing the scene. Police officials stated that investigations into these incidents are ongoing; however, no major breakthroughs have been reported so far in terms of arrests or recovery of stolen property.

Karachi: Meezan Bank, Pakistan’s first and largest Islamic bank, also became the first bank to launch the Islamic SME Asaan Finance Scheme (I-SAAF) for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) under State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) SME Asaan Finance Scheme (SAAF). The launch ceremony was held at Multan Chamber of Commerce and was attended by Dr. Reza Baqir – Governor, SBP, other senior officials of SBP, Mr. Ariful Islam – Deputy CEO, Meezan Bank, Mr. Khawaja Muhammad Hussain – President Multan Chamber of Commerce – and members of the business community.

Under the Scheme, Meezan Bank will extend Shariah-compliant short-term and long-term facilities of up to PKR 10 million to eligible customers, at a subsidized rate of 9 percent per annum. The Scheme was introduced by SBP, and eight participating banks were selected through a transparent bidding process. Meezan Bank was one of the successful bidders, with a sizeable share in the overall program, and the only Islamic bank offering its Shariah-compliant alternate, in-line with its Vision of establishing ‘Islamic banking as banking of first choice…’ I-SAAF will allow access to finance to SMEs that despite being credit-worthy are unable to avail financing due to collateral or other requirements.

While distributing cheques to I-SAAF customers, Mr. Ariful Islam – Deputy CEO, Meezan Bank reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to invest in human resource and technology to ensure success of the Scheme and enable a swift and hassle-free application process for its customers. Mr. Ariful Islam also presented a memento to Dr. Reza Baqir for gracing the event with his presence.