It is a blood chilling report. The last five years of so-called democratic governance saw a horrendous rise in heinous crimes all over Pakistan. According to the National Crime Data (NCD), a total of 3,170,889 offences, including 456,552 against persons and 611,852 cases against property, were reported during the last five years. The number of murders recorded was 65,446, while 22,253 people died in road accidents during the last five years. This gives an average of 18,000 killings per year.

If we take 2007 as the base year, the NCD statistics indicate that while overall crime in the country increased at the rate of 17.86 per cent, crime against person and property curved up at the rate of 24.12 per cent. In 2007, 172,140 offences against person and property were recorded, but the figure rose to 203,035 in 2008, marking a 17.94 per cent jump. The number of incidents further rose to 205,259 in 2009, touching the figure of 229,948 in 2011, a 33.58 per cent rise as compared to 2007.

The 5-year crime statistics point to an average increase of 27.53 per cent as compared to the previous regime. According to NCD figures, 1,366 women were gang-raped and 15,082 women were raped, while 2,640 people were kidnapped for ransom. Moreover, 88,161 men and women were kidnapped or abducted. The 5-year crime figure also includes 611,852 cases of street crime, 350 bank robberies, 698 petrol pump dacoities, in addition to 2,357 highway robberies. The highest rate of kidnapping for ransom was recorded in Sindh during the last five years. In all, 946 people were kidnapped for ransom, constituting 35.83 per cent of the total number of such offences in the country.

With 1953,209 registered cases, Punjab contributed over 61.59 per cent to the total crime volume. There was an alarming rise in crime as a total 723,051 criminal cases were recorded, including 268,173 against person (52,219 in 2008, 51,898 in 2009, 53,958 in 2010, 56,701 in 2011 and 53,397 in 2013). With 1,075 women gang-raped during the last five years, 78.69 per cent all gang-rape incidents in the country occurred in the Punjab. The crime statistics also revealed that 832 people were kidnapped for ransom in the last five years - 213 in 2008, 174 in 2009, 146 in 2010, 184 in 2011 and 115 in 2012 - while the total number of kidnappings and abductions was 67,960. 15,658 cases of armed dacoities, including raids on banks and petrol pumps and highway robberies, and 49,157 incidents of burglaries and thefts were reported.

The NCD indicates an average increase of 41.77 in Sindh as compared to the crime data of 2007. Overall, the Sindh province contributed 430,814 cases to the 5-year statistics. In all 16,121 people were murdered during the last 5-year tenure of the democratic government. The number of women gang-raped in Sindh during this period was 172, while 946 people were kidnapped for ransom - 217 in 2008, 198 in 2009, 175 in 2010, 178 in 2011 and 178 in 2012 - and 13371 were kidnapped or abducted - 2,168 in 2008, 2,424 in 2009, 2,926 in 2010, 2,954 in 2011 and 2,899 in 2012.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, a total of 658,386 cases were registered during the last 5 years. Of this there were 64,627 cases of crime against person and property. In all, 14,764 people were assassinated which gives the yearly average of 2,953. As for Balochistan, it contributed 45,071 cases in the total 5-year crime figure. 335 people were kidnapped for ransom, with an average of 67 cases every year. That shows a disturbing situation, as until 2007 an average of only 15 such cases were reported till 2007. A total of 3,131 people were murdered in Balochistan - 605 in 2008, 626 in 2009, 596 in 2010, 593 in 2011 and 711 in 2012 - with the average of 626 incidents per year. Islamabad Capital Territory too was not free of the rising crime wave. In the last five years, 31,964 cases were reported, with 62 people kidnapped for ransom 49 women were gang-raped and 778 women raped.

The crime figure recorded by NCD does not include the incidents not reported to the police. If the unreported crimes are also included in the overall calculation, the statistics will become more gruesome. It is clear from the crime picture that the government has miserably failed to curb crime and maintain the law and order in the country. A case in point is Karachi which has now been named the murder capital of the world because of the endless killing of innocent people there on a daily basis. The same goes for Balochistan where killings and kidnappings have created a highly volatile situation.

Punjab was supposed to be doing better than other provinces on the law and order front. But crime figures show that the situation here has also been deteriorating fast. For quite some time past, the crime trend has remained strong in the Punjab, but it seems things are now in a worse shape. As in Karachi and elsewhere, police are part of the problem rather than of the solution. Some parts of the rural Punjab are specially notorious for murder and crimes against women. In the last five years the menace of sectarian killings has also assumed alarming proportions. Kidnapping for ransom is a growing industry everywhere.

We look like living in a country where crime rules, murder is king and kidnapping is a flourishing business. Political appointments in the police is one of the main reasons why crime cannot be curbed in our society. Since there is no pressure on political favourites to perform; the result is that the thana culture keeps thriving. Despite substantial increases in the pay and allowances of the police, corruption flourishes and the poor man is a helpless victim. The police force is under-manned and under-equipped and not trained in the latest scientific techniques of crime fighting. In many cases, the police protects the criminals, instead of nabbing them. The crime dens in various parts of the big cities cannot exist without police connivance and patronage. The latest crime statistics are a warning signal to policy and decision makers. They must wake up and take the necessary remedial measures before the situation gets out of control.

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