I am writing to express cautious support, tempered with concern, over the Punjab government’s newly launched crackdown on organised begging mafias, with Lahore selected as the first city to be made ‘beggar-free’. The intent behind this campaign is welcome. Organised begging networks that exploit children, women and persons with disabilities for profit are a genuine form of criminal enterprise and the state is right to act against them. My concern lies in how such crackdowns have historically been carried out. Earlier this year, Lahore Police reportedly arrested 1,324 professional beggars, yet only 10 facilitators were identified among them. This pattern repeats a familiar mistake: visible, vulnerable individuals seem to bear the brunt of enforcement, while the handlers and traffickers who profit from them largely evade consequences.
If this latest crackdown is to succeed where previous ones have fallen short, its focus must shift decisively toward identifying and prosecuting the mafia handlers, not merely clearing street corners for optics. The Punjab government must also ensure that promised rehabilitation centres for rescued individuals, particularly children, are properly funded and functional. A beggar-free Lahore should mean a Lahore free of exploitation, not one where its victims are simply made invisible.
Humaira Safdar
Khushab
