Lyari updates: Committees discuss IDPs, law and order

More residents of the area move to rural parts of Sindh.

KARACHI:

Despite the committees formed by the federal government on directives of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and a committee made by Sindh government, Lyari remained tense on Saturday as more than 100 families moved out of their homes to rural areas.

Two members of the Kutchi community were kidnapped on Saturday while two men were killed at the Hingorabad Road on Friday evening.

The federal team was briefed on the law and order situation in Lyari, including the issue of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) taking shelter in Badin, Thatta and others areas, and the deployment of law enforcement agencies. The meeting was attended by high officials, including Intelligence Bureau Director-General Aftab Sultan, Sindh Chief Secretary Muhammad Ejaz Chaudhry, Rangers DG Major General Rizwan Akhtar and Karachi Commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui.

Chaudhry told The Express Tribune that during the meeting, the Sindh government was asked if it needed any assistance from the federal government to maintain law and order in the city, particularly in Lyari.

“We are already trying to deploy more forces in the tense areas,” he said, clarifying that no major developments took place during the meeting. When asked about the rehabilitation of IDPs, he said that the provincial government was providing all the basic necessities to them. “Some of the IDPs, however, rejected the government’s help.”

Sources told The Express Tribune that the team, which included top officials from Islamabad, visited different parts of Lyari late Saturday night. Security was also beefed up in the already sensitive areas of Lyari by deploying more Rangers and police ahead of the visit of the officials.

The IDPs staying at the Shah Gurio shrine, however, complained that the district government was providing them only one meal a day. “We are in a miserable state and appeal to the government to maintain law and order in Lyari and rehabilitate us,” said Dawood Kutchi.

‘Lyari’ situation is exaggerated’

The Lyari situation is not as bad as being portrayed and life will be back to normal in just a few days, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said while talking to the media on Saturday.

He has directed officials to establish police posts to deal with criminal elements in Lyari. A committee has been formed, which also includes two federal representatives sent by the prime minister, to deal with Lyari’s migration issue, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2013.