Ordinary citizens join the ranks of those paying for protection in violence-wracked country.
Pakistan's private security industry is thriving and is estimated to be worth more than half a billion dollars a year.
The steady increase is largely due to the lack of government action, countless bombings and attacks and sporadic violence that the military and other law enforcement agencies struggle to contain.
It is an industry that provides jobs for around 350 000 people, many of whom are poorly trained and badly paid - but that has not deterred its growth.