Rehman Dakait now deceased

"Brandishing his klashinkov, Rehman Dakait (Rehman the Robber), son of deceased Dadal, is hired by the Laloo gang to murder the chief rival, Babu. When a surprised Babu comes face to face with Rehman the Robber, he bursts out laughing and declares:

"Dadal may have given you his name, but in reality, you are my son!"

Babu explains how he had an affair with Rehman's mother, Khadija. Infuriated, Rehman the Robber leaves his adversary (and self-proclaimed biological father) Babu in this world to perform ablution of the insult and murders his mother. "

Thus go the tales that help buffer the reputation of underworld leaders. Rehman Dakait had many ups and down in life as he rose the ranks of Lyari's gangsters. He had been arrested before and managed to escape through the clutches of the police. The police were never effective in Lyari and failed to control spiraling crime. When the recent government came to power, it became public knowledge that Rehman the Robber had been given control over Lyari to help bring down crime. In the early days of the current government, several non-affiliated (freelance?) robbers were caught and burned alive by vigilantes of Rehman Dakait on the spot.

Often when I'd gone to Karachi, I'd stay in Sher Shah's industrial area (south of Lyari, but primarily of Baloch and/or Pathan groups). Not long ago, an entire steel godown had been burned down. My friend who has an industrial unit in the area claims it was burned down after the owner(s) failed to pay the extortion amount to Rehman the Robber. That was the first time I heard of Rehman.

Despite the merry-go-rounds of bribes and extortion, Rehman the Robber was rather well-liked by the people of Lyari, populated primarily by poor Baloch as well as Sindhis and Khachis (Gujratis). When in 2008, the government handed the robber control of a large section of the country's largest city, there were only muted protests. Perhaps people realized that the government had (correctly and finally) lost all faith in its ability to control Lyari and had to rely upon mafia leaders to bring 'peace'.

Of course, back then I had laughed at the preposterous decision by the government. But the mafia tends to be better organized having become adept at making sure all the nuts and bolts of the organization remain well-greased. Unlike the perpetually rusty administration of the government.

Last week, Rehman Dakait was however arrested by the police and killed without trial (to avoid the headache of something called due process of law). Many attended his funeral. While Karachi was littered with his exploits, his memory will remain as long as the government consistently fails to show itself as an effective administrator of the city.