Controversy: Nisar asks CM to resolve the issue

The minister told DG Bilal that the Rangers have improved the law and order situation in Karachi

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in a letter addressed to the Sindh chief minister on Tuesday said it is the joint responsibility of both the federal and the provincial governments to remove hurdles in the Rangers’ operation.

The interior minister maintained that every time [an extension in powers and deployment is due] there seems to be a delay on behalf of the Sindh government. According to Khan, the Rangers are playing a pivotal role in maintaining law and order and to restore routine life in Sindh, especially in Karachi.

“Unnecessarily delay in awarding legal cover to the Rangers’ operation will not only affect the ongoing operation but it will also impede the civil armed forces’ zeal besides hampering their performance,” he said in the letter. Meanwhile, Rangers Director-General Maj Gen Bilal Akbar also contacted the interior minister on Tuesday and discussed the issue of delay in issuance of the notification.  According to a ministry spokesperson, the minister told Akbar that the Rangers have improved the law and order situation in Karachi. Khan assured him that their [Rangers’] efforts will not be in vain. The minister said the deployment of Rangers in Sindh and the Karachi operation was launched with the consensus of all stakeholders, adding that the decision in this context was taken in the backdrop of clear directives of the superior judiciary.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2016.