Sindh cabinet meeting: Package for martyred cops raised to Rs 5 million

Families registered with BISP to get Rs1,500 each as Ramazan package.

KARACHI: The Sindh cabinet has approved compensation for policemen martyred in the line of duty at Rs5 million plus payment of salary and a job for the heirs of the deceased.

This decision was taken in a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah at the New Sindh Secretariat on Friday.

There were five items on the meeting’s agenda, including wheat procurement and enhancement of the target, Ramazan package, law and order, finance and development.

Regarding wheat procurement, the cabinet was informed that the food department has procured 923,307 tons of wheat against the target of 1.1 million tons.

The food department requested the cabinet to increase the target by two lac tons. The cabinet refused to approve the request on the grounds that wheat prices have increased in the market, therefore increasing the target would not give any benefit to the growers.

Discussing the Ramzan package, the cabinet decided to give Rs1,500 per family as per the list of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

Two million families are registered with BISP, and would be given cash through the BISP valid cards costing the government Rs3 billion.

Sindh IG AD Khawaja, giving a presentation on law and order, said there was no new kidnapping for ransom case in Sindh. However, he pointed out two old cases of 2015 in which Shamsuddin and Maj (retd) Naikhez were kidnapped from Rashid Minhas Road and Defence, respectively.

He said police are working hard to recover them safely.

The chief minister, with the approval of the cabinet, decided to enhance compensation amount for policemen killed in the line of duty from Rs2 million to Rs5 million.

Shah also took the cabinet into confidence regarding the decisions taken in the apex committee meeting.

The cabinet allowed the IG to start recruitment of 20,000 policemen as soon as possible. The police department has the capacity to train only 8,000 personnel, therefore Karachi Corps Commander Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar has taken the responsibility to impart them training from the Pakistan Army.

The cabinet also appreciated the Rangers and police for restoring peace in the province, particularly in Karachi.

The cabinet also allowed the police department to raise a security force for projects related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2016.