IT won’t be wrong to say that begging has become an organized profession in our society and the regrettable part is that nothing substantial has been done to remove this blot. Crackdowns are launched but these have so far proved to be of little effect to do away with this nuisance.
In its latest crackdown, Islamabad police have reportedly arrested 579 beggars during the last one week. DIG (Operations) Waqar Uddun Syed has also issued necessary directions to its staff to keep an eye on beggars and arrest them wherever they are spotted. Whilst we really appreciate the efforts of the DIG to curb this menace, there is need to take a holistic view of the whole situation to achieve better results in this campaign. Most importantly, there is need to nab the rackets and handlers of these beggars. This mafia has divided the federal capital into different sectors/zones and such is their affair that the contractor of one zone does not interfere in the affairs of other zones. Until and unless this mafia is not taken to task, the number of beggars would continue rising in the federal capital as they not only exploit the poor families but also kidnap minors from hospitals, streets and shrines. The beggars working under the protection of mafias are also brought into play in drug trafficking and prostitution. Then these beggars have made the life of motorists miserable. Some kids offer to wash windscreens of vehicles, sell flowers, newspapers and other small items to attract the sympathy of the people. There are also instances where these kids have been seen damaging the vehicles when the alms was refused to them. They apparently consider alms as their birth right and denial as their contempt. The situation in neighbouring Rawalpindi as well as other big cities is no different. Curbing this menace has become need of the hour to save the society from several other social evils. In our view a law should be passed to declare begging illegal. Apart from raising awareness amongst the people, rehabilitation centres should be established where these beggars should be imparted with some sort of technical training so that they could earn their livelihoods in a dignified manner.
