Limiting special powers: No retreat on Rangers’ gains, says Nawaz

Civil-military leaders decide centre will approach Sindh over issue

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday ruled out the possibility of surrendering the “operational gains” achieved so far through the surgical operation carried out by the paramilitary Rangers in Karachi, pledging to continue the operation till its logical conclusion.

According to sources, the prime minister expressed these views on Friday in a high level civil-military huddle, in which participants expressed serious concerns over the Sindh Assembly’s resolution limiting the special powers assigned to the paramilitary force.

Since August 2013, the Rangers have been engaged in a surgical operation in the port city against criminal elements and terrorists. It is vested with special powers under which it can carry out investigations, conduct raids without a warrant and detain suspects for 90 days.

When these special powers elapsed on December 8, the Sindh government referred the matter to the provincial assembly, which passed a resolution on December 16, limiting those powers.

An official statement issued by the PM House said the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday morning chaired a high-level meeting at the PM House to discuss issues pertaining to internal security and Afghanistan.

The meeting was attended by senior civil and military officials including army chief General Raheel Sharif, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi and National Security Adviser  General (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua.

The participants also discussed the ongoing Karachi operation and strategy in the wake of Sindh Assembly’s resolution that restricted the paramilitary Rangers powers and stopped it from taking action against financial corruption and people not directly involved in terrorism.

It was decided that the federal government would approach the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led Sindh government to resolve the issue. The participants noted that the Sindh government wanted to bargain with the federal government and military establishment over the issue of Dr Asim Hussain, a former federal minister and the PPP co-chairperson’s close aide, who is currently under National Accountability Bureau’s custody.

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan briefed the participants about the legal options to grant full powers to the Rangers. It was decided that these legal options would be used in steps if Sindh government continued to resist in granting the powers.

Afghan peace process and dialogues with India

Civil and military leaders also discussed the way forward for resumption of peace talks between Kabul and Afghan Taliban in a bid to materialise the resolution of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process (HOA-IP).

The HOA-IP’s fifth ministerial meeting – held in Islamabad on December 9 –called the Afghan Taliban and other insurgent groups in Afghanistan to enter into peace talks with the administration of President Ashraf Ghani.

An official at the PM House said the meeting discussed Pakistan’s strategy in the wake of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process.  Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said during Ghani’s recent visit and his interactions with prime minister, army chief and others, it was decided that Pakistan will once again help in initiating the peace talks between Kabul and Afghan Taliban.

He said the civil and military leaders discussed Pakistan’s options to help in the resumption of talks two major stakeholders in Afghanistan.


Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2015.