THE rise of kidnap-for-ransom cases in the country in recent years is perhaps one of the most vexing law-and-order problems for the security and intelligence apparatus to deal with. That the Supreme Court has now issued notices to the relevant provincial and federal government officials to advise the court on contending with the problem indicates how an originally localised phenomenon has grown to national proportions with multiple strands and multiple players. The most fraught cases remain the ones connected to militant groups who have turned to kidnapping for ransom as an easy, and relatively lucrative, way to raise funds. In some cases, as with the sons of a former prime minister and governor, the attempt is also to wrest other concessions from the state, such as the release of militants in custody. In others, as in the major urban centres, the rise of instances of `flash kidnapping` where even non-wealthy individuals are kidnapped for a few hours and released upon payment of relatively small sums has come to haunt many neighbourhoods.

At its root, the problem remains one of a declining state and an overstretched law-enforcement and intelligence apparatus that is overburdened, lacks specialised training and tends to treat the problem as serious only when connected to the issue of militancy.

Where civilian-led infrastructure was created and had the capacity to specifically deal with such problems for example, the Citizen Police Liaison Committee`s anti-kidnapping cell in Karachi the capacity has either been gutted or not nurtured. Institution-building, as ever, remains far too low down on the scale of priorities of the nation`s leadership. Yet, there are more dimensions to this than purely curative recovering kidnapped victims and capturing the kidnappers. The entire spectrum of the criminal justice system is broken and failures across the board have allowed for the rise of kidnap-for-ransom cases. In some notorious cases, parts of the security and political leadership of the country themselves have been accused of aiding and abetting kidnappers or sometimes even sponsoring rings of their own. Moreover, it is difficult to overlook the problem in the courts themselves: the petitions that led to the notifications issued to government officials on Friday by the Supreme Court date back to 1992. Surely, no criminal justice system can function in any reasonably efficient manner if it takes decades to bring closure to cases. There are many ills only a full-spectrum response will help improve law and order nationally.