My Father Was Robbed of $1500 (400,000 PKR) in Karachi

I need to get this off my chest...

My father visited a money exchange in Karachi to exchange a significant amount of Riyals that we had saved up for emergency situations in our family. Since Riyal is not the official currency of Pakistan—the Pakistani Rupee is—we had to exchange them at a currency exchange shop to cover some urgent payments. Two of the most pressing payments were a house installment and the fees for my younger brother’s medical school exam.

It happened at around 3 p.m. in broad daylight. At the time, I was at the hospital and had no idea what had transpired until I returned home.

My dad and my brother left the currency shop on a bike. Knowing the dangerous conditions of this city, they had divided the 700,000 PKR (approximately $2,500) into separate locations—some of the money was kept in their socks, some in a bag, and some in a wallet.

From the currency exchange shop, they went to the estate agent’s office, where they dropped off 300,000 PKR as payment and then left for home.

My dad was riding the bike at his usual pace and was passing by the Industrial Area Road

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It was on this busy road that the mishap took place. My dad had a laptop bag with him, which contained a laptop. My brother had an iPhone in his pocket, while my dad carried a Samsung phone in his.

Suddenly, two bikes and a car sidelined my dad on the road. Within moments, four people got out of the car, and one of the bikers joined them. All of them holding pistols.

The strange part is that they knew exactly where the money was. They didn’t even glance at the laptop, nor did they show any interest in the mobile phones. They immediately demanded my dad take the money out of his socks, pockets, bag, and wallet. It’s as if they knew exactly where everything was. Unbelievable, isn’t it? How could they have known?

Did someone tip them off? Was it someone from the money exchange shop or someone from the estate agent’s office? We’re still questioning, trying to make sense of how this happened. Meanwhile, our hard-earned money is gone, and my younger brother is left waiting to have his exam fees paid.

I don’t want to cry. I don’t want to shout. I’m just in shock and agony. My dad hasn’t said a word since, and you can see his heart sinking deeper by the moment.

This amount of money is something I wouldn’t even earn in a year. It’s a massive loss for us. I know we’ll earn far more than we’ve lost someday, but right now, I’m so, so disappointed—in this city, in this country—that I don’t know what to do. Should we leave? Kill someone? Or just give up entirely?

I’m at a loss for words....