KARACHI: The incidence of unsolicited emails and short message services (SMS) and obscene calls have increased to alarming levels, distressing innumerable people across the country — but there is little the authorities can do against them.

Officials of the Federal Invetigation Agency (FIA) said that they are unable to help people who want to lodge complaints in this regard because the law promulgated to prevent such crimes – the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance (Peco) – lapsed last year.

The law was aimed at countering cyber crimes such as the proliferation of threatening SMSs, blackmailing by sending obscene photographs as well as asking people to pay money for “winning” fake lottery draws and money-laundering with the help of cyber tools.

Officials said that 138 investigations are pending before the FIA’s Crime Circle, adding that there are more than 300 complaints which cannot be acted upon because of absence of lack of a law. “Across Pakistan, the number of complaints is in the thousands,” an FIA official said.

A victim told this correspondent that she had been trying to get her complaint lodged with the FIA for the past six months, but officials were telling her that they could do nothing on her complaint because there was no longer any law.

FIA Director, Karachi Zone, Moazzam Jah Ansari said that the agency was helpless after the law lapsed, adding that they were receiving several complaints, particularly from women, every day – but they were helpless because they could not proceed against the people involved in such activities.

Many victims of such messages or calls or those affected by unscrupulous elements posting pictures of innocent girls and women on questionable websites, said that they felt infuriated but there was no remedy available to them.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9^th, 2010.

KARACHI: The closed-circuit TV (CCTV) cameras put up all over the city to monitor traffic violations and suspicious activity have been switched off. For the past four days, all that’s been going on in the streets is shrouded in oblivion as far as the traffic policemen in the monitoring room are concerned.

At least 200 CCTV cameras were installed at a cost of Rs40 million on important routes in different areas, including DHA, Clifton, Sharae Faisal, MA Jinnah Road, North Nazimabad and Guru Mandir. The step was taken to help regulate traffic, bring down the crime rate and help police in investigations. The cameras helped with 24-hour surveillance and the footage was monitored in the control room set up especially for this purpose at the Central Police Head Office on II Chundrigar Road. However, four days ago, the monitoring shut down suddenly. Officials in the control room are idling away their time as they wait for the recording to start again.

According to official sources, the Sindh IT department had outsourced the project to a private company. After the cameras were installed, the government told the company they would not sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and officially take over the project till all the glitches in the system were smoothed out. As a result, the actual power behind the monitoring system is still with that company. However, at least 75 officials of the traffic department were given special training so they could starting monitoring the CCTV footage.

The officials work in three eight-hour shifts, with 25 men present in the control room at one time.

Official sources said the monitoring stopped because of a dispute between the company and PTCL. They refused to divulge any more information but warned that it could be several days before the monitoring starts again.

The traffic policemen monitoring the footage were instructed to report accidents that occurred anywhere in the city to the relevant traffic section and police station. The monitoring also helped find out where the traffic jams were the worst and this information was circulated quickly. DIG Traffic Khurram Gulzar confirmed that the CCTV cameras had stopped recording. This is creating a lot of trouble, he admitted. He explained that the cameras also helped monitor the performance of the traffic policemen on the roads and keep a check on them.

Surveillance cameras help with investigations against criminals, in identifying bank robbers and bringing down traffic violations, said Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Ali Mirza on Wednesday. “The monitoring must resume immediately because it helps instill fear in criminals and brings down the rate of crime in the city,” he added.

He instructed Capital City Police Officer Karachi Fayyaz Leghari to carry out an inquiry into the matter. Leghari was told to get the zonal DIGs and DIG Traffic to submit a report and take all steps to resume monitoring.

Mirza also said that those banks that do not have CCTV cameras installed must get the cameras immediately. Town police officials have to contact banks in their areas and coordinate with them and ensure that cameras are installed and proper monitoring and recording takes place. Meanwhile, available footage from banks that have been robbed must be used to identify criminals and make arrests, added the minister.

with additional reporting by Mohammad Yaseen

Published  in The Express Tribune, October 7^th, 2010.

KARACHI: Karachi’s newly appointed chief of police Fayyaz Leghari has said that the force is trying to work out a strategy to clamp down on target killings with the help of other intelligence agencies.

“So far, we have had some success but a lot of work still needs to be done,” said the CCPO Karachi in an interview with Express TV.

Leghari was quick to give examples of successes. Recently the city police busted a gang of six people, who were involved in the killings of not only senior police officials but also other people. “So far,  we have been able to solve 32 cases of such killings in the city,” he said. According to him, the interfaces of the areas where different ethnic communities live are the source of trouble and the police have planned to man them in order to control the situation. “Orangi Town, Gulistan-e-Jauhar and some areas of the West zone are sensitive,” he went on to say.

According to police records so far a little more than 148 target killings have taken place.

He sees target killings as a sensitive issue, saying that the police first had to differentiate between ethnic, sectarian and random killings. “Sanity is prevailing among people and politicians regarding this issue,” he said, adding: “This can be a conspiracy to destabilise Karachi.”

According to the CCPO, he has directed the force to have a zero-tolerance policy for pillion riding.

“Pillion riding adds to street crimes and helps target killers,” he said, adding that four-wheelers usually cannot operate in crime-infested areas, especially where there are different ethnic communities.

Throwing light on the interrogation in sectarian killing cases, he said that the CID has been assigned the task. “The CID is a specialised body and will look in to these matters.” About the role of the paramilitary Rangers in the city and their relationship with the city police, Leghari said that they were “augmenting” the police performance.

“In order to control a city as large as Karachi, you need to have a big police force and we are short of staff,” he said. “The Rangers work under the supervision of the provincial government and are 10,000 in number. They really help the police.”

Karach’s law and order situation has deteriorated to the extent that foreign businessmen and bankers need to be persuaded to come to the city even though the situation is “not as bad as it is portrayed”.

Leghari maintained that the Taliban were never as strong in Karachi as they are in other parts of the country. “However, the city police took some pro-active steps and rooted them out,” he said, quickly adding: “Their sleeper cells might prevail but they are not active.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2010.

KARACHI: A six-member gang has been looting and robbing households across Clifton, Defence and Gulshan-e-Iqbal for the last four years. According to the police, these robbers are experts in disguise. They are also notorious for carrying out robberies while dressed in suits, which is why they have become infamous as the “Tie wallah group”.

“The Tie-wallah group is as infamous as the White Corolla Car Group,” said Clifton SP Tariq Dharejo. All members of the gang are expert robbers. They never misbehave with the women in the house they are robbing. They always use an expensive car so that the police will have a tough time finding them, he explained. Numerous cases have been filed against all members of the gang in police stations across the city, Dharejo added.

Police officials said that they believe this gang has amassed so much wealth and money through their robberies that they are actually doing business in Malaysia. However, they have yet to get more information on this, added the officials.

The gang leader is Muhammad Imran Khan alias Bhurmal, who is a resident of Kolokhara in Kasur district. According to police records, Khan lives in North Karachi. He is on the list of most wanted criminals.

His second wife, Samar, used to work as a receptionist at the ISM Hospital before her wedding. Police records state that Samar’s mother, Nighat, used to work in a hospital as a maid.

Another member of the gang is identified as Farhan, who is Imran’s brother. He also lives in North Karachi with Imran.

The third member is Syed Afzal Ali while another member, Kamran, was recently killed in a police encounter.

Officials claim there are two other young criminals in the gang. Police also believe that the gang has contacts with an official in the jails department, who helps them out in tight spots.

The group operates early in the morning after the men of a household have left for office. All suited and booted, these men move around in a car. They often stop in front of a bungalow or house they plan to rob and try to get information from servants and those around the neighbourhood under the pretext of looking for directions.

“As soon as somebody is fooled into opening the gate, the job is made simple for them,” said an official. Once the door is opened, they use their weapons to hold anyone inside the house hostage and proceed to loot the entire house.

Dumping any and all valuables into plastic bags, the robbers escape with ease in their car. After spreading terror in Defence and Clifton, the group has now directed its attentions towards other parts of the city, said police officials.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2010.

KARACHI: The little survivors at Razzaqabad relief camp wake up at the call of Fajr prayers and wait until 8 am when the gates of the school open for them.

When it’s time for school, they gather around Baba Ghulam Haider, an elderly survivor living at the camp, who has taken up the responsibility of walking all the children to school and then bringing them back.

“I want all of them to get educated and become doctors,” hopes Haider, who is very happy that he can play his part in helping out the children.

The headmistress of Razzaqabad Government School decided to open their facilities for the children living at the Razzaqabad relief camp, believed to be the largest in the city. Nasreen Razzaq, the 40-year-old headmistress, was saddened by the floods that destroyed the lives of these people, who ended up living at camps with meagre resources. Hence, she decided to impart education to all the children at the camp and help them overcome their misery.

“These people have arrived here with nothing and they love to study,” she explained. “A lot of students come to the school and they do not even skip classes,” she added happily.

The teachers at Nasreen’s school also jumped at the opportunity to help the survivors and can be seen diligently taking lessons through the day.

The school, however, lacks basic necessities, such as desks, so most of the children have no choice but to sit on the floor. Water supply to the building is also not consistent but nothing can dampen the enthusiasm of these little survivors.

Flood survivors to study at private schools

The provincial education department has decided to continue classes for students of government schools, which have been shut down due to the floods, at private schools near relief camps. The classes will be held in the in the afternoon hours.

The Directorate of Private Institutions Sindh has asked EDOs education through the province to submit details about closed government schools and the students who were studying there for this purpose.

“Private schools are being requested to make this move possible,” said Mansoob Siddiqui of the Directorate of Private Institutions Sindh.  “We are facing a national crisis and private schools will have to play their role at this crucial stage.”

Children’s life at camp

Meanwhile, our correspondent Masror Hausen visited the Razzaqabad camp and believed that the resilience and strength of the people of Pakistan shows through despite the devastating floods.

More than half of the flood-affected people were children but those living at Razzaqabad are not worried about anything.

Most of these children are from the northern districts of Sindh – Kandhkot, Ghotki, Ghouspur, Sultanpur, Thul, Shikarpur and Jacobabad.

For them, this is indeed a never-ending picnic. Riding a train, staying away from house chores, meeting new friends, no schools and no homework – one big adventure.

However, the doctors think differently.

They believe these children are already facing post-traumatic syndrome as they were exposed and vulnerable.

A bunch of kids cobbled together for him to listen to their musical show. “The children were having a ball… singing and dancing away not knowing what the future holds for them,” he noted.

But there was one little girl, Azra, who could not have fun the same way as other children did. “Azra is physically challenged. She cannot walk or talk,” explained her father, adding that the doctors have been unable to treat her.

A doctor at the medical camp was jubilant that he had this opportunity to serve these people. “Post-traumatic syndrome is rampant [at the camp], but we have managed to control gastroenteritis,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 26^th, 2010.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: August 26, 2010

Due to a transcription error, an earlier version of this article omitted the word ‘think’ in the line ‘However doctors think differently.’

KARACHI: One child was hurt when food distribution turned nasty and a stampede ensued on Wednesday.

The relief camp in Razzaqabad is the biggest setup in Karachi for flood survivors. On Wednesday, a private textile industrialist’s attempt at charity went haywire due to mismanagement and fighting among the survivors. Thousands of people swarmed the truck, which had cartons containing milk powder, tea, flour, sugar, oil, pulses and other essential edibles. The industrialist went to the town municipal office first, where the distribution started.

However, within minutes the crowd surrounding the truck became so thick and disorganised that the men distributing the cartons started to throw down relief items at random. Men, women and children clawed at one another to grab the goods while some of the people even tried to climb up the truck to get their share. However, the men on the truck pushed the survivors back, lashing out at them with sticks.

A young child was injured in this chaos. He was taken to a medical camp nearby for treatment.

People complained that the government was not giving them anything. “We have no clothes and no food. There is no electricity in the camps, we spend night after night lying awake,” said one of the IDPs. Even if they make lines, their food is snatched, people complained.

The food situation has made people at the Razzaqabad relief camp desperate. While the stronger IDPs fight for the food, little children go for the scraps of food that fall on the ground, hurriedly stuffing anything they can into their pockets.

During one such distribution, a can of ghee was thrown at the crowd and it broke, driving people to bend down and scoop up the ghee in their palms.

Some of the IDPs sit at the side of roads, waiting for any vehicle with food to pass by.

One high-roof vehicle with milk and bottled water was forced to leave the camp area without distributing anything because men, women and children rushed to the car and surrounded it, frantically trying to get their hands on some food. After the incident, orders have been given that all vehicles carrying relief goods to the camp should be escorted by police and Rangers personnel.

“We do not have milk and other food items needed for children,” complained one flood survivor at the camp. “We have no other choice but to snatch and fight if we don’t want our children to starve.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2010.

KARACHI: Frail Sadori Mai may have survived the loss of all her possessions when the flood hit her hometown but she could not overcome the loss of her hookah.

All the survivors gathered at Razzaqabad relief camp in Karachi have their own grievances but Sadori is unique in her sorrows. Her family lost all their earnings in the flood but the loss of Sadori’s hookah was too much to bear for the 60-year-old.

However, her wrinkled face broke into a smile when she got a new one. “I bought this for Rs200,” boasted Sadori, pointing to her newly acquired hookah. “I can survive without roti but I cannot live without hookah,” she claimed.

According to Sadori, she has been smoking hookah ever since she can remember and cannot imagine having to live without it. Even her family is immune to the gurgle of the hookah. “We lost everything in the floods but my mother told us in Jacobabad that if she did not get a hookah she would kill herself,” recalled her son Ahsan Ali.

Over the years, Sadori has seen many tough times and she is saddened by the floods that have made her homeless. But she is hopeful that these times will pass and she will be able to return home. It is this hope that allows Sadori Mai to sit back and relax with a puff or two as she hangs out outside her tent with her neighbours and old friends from Jacobabad.

Four babies born at camp

The anxious faces broke into smiles when news spread that a baby boy was born at the Razzaqabad training camp. People shouted their greetings and hugged each other as this was the only good news they have heard since the past 15 days when they fled from their homes.

The baby boy brought joy in the life of the camp dwellers but he has a difficult life ahead as his father went missing in the flood. No one knows if he was washed away or managed to survive the torrents.

Other women present at the camp tried to convince the mother to name the child but she refused to do so until her husband is found.

Among the four pregnant women present at the camp, this was the only delivery that took place inside the camp with the help of a midwife. The remaining three women were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where they gave birth.

Land mafia surfaces

Several members of the land mafia have started taking over government land and apartments, pretending to be flood survivors.

According to officials, a couple of people took over a Worker Welfare Board flat on Sunday. When Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza found out, he reached the site and directed the relevant officials to make sure that all survivors are registered so that they are not mistaken with other residents, who may be taking advantage of their plight.

Gastroenteritis spreading

Many survivors residing in the Razzaqabad camp were inflicted with gastroenteritis and have been shifted to hospitals.

The camp doctor said that polluted water is the main reason why gastroenteritis is spreading in the camp. The medical team has provided treatment to 200 women and children in the camp while those in critical condition are shifted to hospitals, he added.

Facilities

The government has deployed local police, Sindh Reserve Police and Rangers at the relief camp established inside the Razzaqabad training centre. A generator has been installed and separate halls have been assigned for prayers and laundry. Water tankers are also present outside the camp at all times so that the survivors have access to clean drinking water.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2010.

KARACHI: Federal interior minister Rehman Malik said Wednesday that some people in Karachi are keeping around 50 weapons on a single licence.

“The government has decided that those possessing arms licences would be required to have them attested at police stations,” he told daily Express at the Karachi airport.

The interior minister said those who fail to have their arms licences attested within two months after the directives are issued, will face action.

He said the government was mulling not only cleansing Karachi of illegal weapons, but the rest of the country as well. “I will hold a meeting with provincial officials to devise a strategy for making the country weapon-free,” he said.

Malik added that parties trying to challenge the writ of the government in Karachi will be dealt with strictly.

The interior minister also termed the decision to activate peace committees at the police station level as a successful move. “Qasba and Ali Garh colonies are examples that prove the step has been a success,” Malik said.

Raza Haider

Malik said the culprits responsible for the killing of MQM lawmaker Raza Haider will be arrested soon as significant progress has been made in the investigation of the murder case.

Ramazan

The interior minister said though terrorists were conspiring against the government, there is nothing to worry about during the month of Ramazan.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 12^th, 2010.

KARACHI: The Sindh police has imported 12 sniffer dogs from Germany in a bid to develop more effective methods of tracing hidden explosives and terrorist groups.

The German Shepherds and Labradors, aged between five months and one year, were imported at a cost of Rs5 million. They have been handed over to the Special branch and are being trained by experts from the Pakistan Army at the Garden police headquarters. Barracks have been set up to house these additions to the police force.

The dogs will be able to trace explosives and terrorists after being trained for a period between six months to a year.

The K-9 unit, named after a famous television show based on the life of a robotic dog, will soon be inaugurated by IG Sultan Salahuddin Babar Khattak. Hotels in Karachi already use sniffer dogs to help with vehicle checks. The army also has its own dogs.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16^th, 2010.

KARACHI: The driving licence offices in Nazimabad, Korangi and Clifton have become “hubs of corruption”, sources unwilling to be named revealed on Wednesday. Employees at these offices have taken to demanding bribes to issue licences, sources said, who added that the people who do not pay, are harassed during the process.

The licence branch in Nazimabad is ahead of the rest in terms of corruption, sources said. While the actual fee for getting a learner’s licence is Rs150, employees at the branch ask for Rs400 to Rs500, while some people are forced to pay around Rs1,000 to get the actual license made, people who were standing outside the Nazimabad branch told Express News.  If someone refuses to pay the bribe, he or she is failed in the four-part driving test, which includes an eye examination, an oral test, a written test and a driving test, they added.

However, some people admitted that they did not object to the easy route to getting a licence, as it was ‘convenient’.

“I applied for my licence through a ‘source’. I paid extra money and did not have to take the tests,” said Zain, a 32-year-old car driver, who added that he had learnt how to drive by becoming a valet and parking cars for people. “I needed a licence to get a job as a driver,” he said.

“I did not want to go through the long process, so I asked a contact at the licence office to help me out,” said a 25-year-old resident of Defence.

The police, however, said that they are taking measures to ensure that corruption at these offices is dealt with a firm hand.

“Action has been taken against 54 corrupt police officers and workers at the licence offices on the complaints of the people within the past two and a half years,” said traffic licence Additional Deputy Inspector General (ADIG) Muhammad Malik. He added that the people who need to get their licences made should first visit the licencing office’s website to figure out the process and should then proceed to obtain their licences accordingly. Those who wish to file complaints should contact the number listed on the website, he said.

Meanwhile, Sindh home minister Dr Zulfiqar Ali Mirza ordered the launch of a new window at the licence-issuing offices where people can lodge their complaints and find answers to their queries. He said that the traffic police website must be made accessible to people so that they can get information on the procedure of getting licences, including fees and other details.

He also asked for a report on the performance of employees at the offices as well as the officials of the Capital City Police, along with details on their postings and progress.

People must only pay the prescribed fees, said Mirza, who warned of strict action against officials who were found to be extorting money.

WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM PPI

Published in The Express Tribune, July 15th, 2010.