Govt ponders ‘documentation’ of Karachi’s population

ISLAMABAD: One of the proposals given a serious thought at Sunday’s security huddle was documentation of Karachi’s population on the model of the federal capital, the security czar revealed on Monday.

“For this purpose, we will seek help from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA),” Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the federal interior minister, told a news conference in Islamabad after his whirlwind visit to the country’s commercial hub where an uptick in violence set off alarm bells. He did not elaborate. Nisar was in Karachi on Sunday where he attended a high-level meeting convened at the corps headquarters to review the security situation following the targeted killing of qawwali maestro Amjad Sabri and kidnapping of a son of Sindh’s top judge. Army chief General Raheel Sharif and top civil and military officials attended the meeting.



A proposal was also discussed to introduce the ‘safe city project’ in Karachi which is already operational in Islamabad. Another proposal that came under discussion was digitalisation of crime data in the country under the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) which would help intelligence and security agencies manage their activities against terrorists in an effective manner, Nisar said.

The minister also spoke about plans for capacity building of the Sindh police to get better results. “As many as 20,000 fresh recruitments will be made in the police, while 2,000 ex-servicemen will also be appointed in assistance with Pakistan Army,” he added.

The minister said Pakistan was winning the war against terrorists, but to take it to a logical conclusion, the country has to win on the psychological front. “The war has not ended and we have to create a counter narrative which motivates the nation against terrorism,” he added. “The nation should not lose hope as it is time for terrorists to despair.”

“We should not be part of the game plan of terrorists. Terrorists are frustrated. They are trying to divide, dishearten people and focusing on soft targets to demoralise the nation,” he said.

Nisar said Pakistan is among the nations which has success stories against terrorism. Due to the sacrifices of army and security agencies in last one and a half year, the situation has considerably improved and this fact is not only recognised in Pakistan but also at the international level.



According to a US country report, a 45% decrease has been witnessed in incidents of terrorism in the country, 39% reduction in deaths related to terrorism and 53% reduction in injury cases related to terrorism as compared to last year. The situation has further improved in the first six months of this year, he added.

He said despite improvement in the situation, incidents like the murder of Sabri and kidnapping of a son of Sindh High Court’s Chief Justice erases those past performances.  “What happened to the son of SHC chief justice and family of Amjad Sabari was unfortunate. These incidents are condemnable and unfortunate. Not only affected families, but every Pakistani feels it,” he said.

Nacta, he said, will hold a meeting with all stakeholders after Eid in order to further strengthen mechanisms to curb terrorist financing.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2016.