Karachi rollerblading police: Shaniera Akram suggests to fix poor roads first

Karachi police have deployed armed rollerblading unit to curb theft and harassment on the city’s teeming streets.

Gliding in a circle with their weapons pointed inwards, and lifting and lowering the guns in unison, the 20-member unit clad in black undergoes rigorous training.

Farrukh Ali, chief of the unit, detailed that officers on rollerblades could more easily chase thieves on motorcycles through the city of 20 million.

“We felt we needed to come up with an innovative approach to control street crime,” he said.

However, Shaniera Akram, wife of legendary cricketer Wasim Akram takes to Twitter to suggest that it would be better to fix the poor road conditions of Karachi first.

“Wouldn’t it be wiser to fix the roads of Karachi first, then put our police on Rollerblades?” she wrote.

Wouldn’t it be wiser to fix the roads of Karachi first, then put our police on Rollerblades??

— Shaniera Akram (@iamShaniera) February 24, 2021

Furthermore, safety concerns were raised when initial footage of the Karachi unit’s training showed officers carrying heavier weapons, but Farrukh Ali said the unit would only carry handguns, reducing the risk of bullets ricocheting.

The rollerblading police are expected to begin officially next month, but they were recently spotted outside the venue of the Pakistan Super League cricket tournament.

And they have already begun patrolling Karachi’s bustling beachfront.