Rangers’ summary: ‘Approval from the top awaited’

KARACHI: A summary was moved on Tuesday from the home department to the CM as the Sindh government has principally agreed to deploy the Rangers in the province for another year and give policing powers to the paramilitary force, but only in Karachi, according to official sources.

Both the deployment and special powers of the force expired on July 19, 2016.

“Home department has finalised the summary to give Rangers special powers for 120 days and deploy the force under Article 147 of the Constitution in the province for a year. We are all waiting for [Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman] Asif Ali Zardari’s consent,” a senior bureaucrat working in the chief secretary’s office told The Express Tribune.

After the PPP leadership’s nod, the CM will dispatch the summary to the federal interior ministry from where a notification will be issued. The last notification to deploy the Rangers in Sindh was issued in July 2015, fixing a one-year tenure for the force with effect from July 2, 2015 to July 19, 2016. The Rangers’ special [policing] powers in Karachi were extended for 77 days with effect from May 4 this year, which expired on Tuesday (yesterday).



Some constitutional experts are of the view that since the Rangers’ deployment and policing powers have expired, the paramilitary force cannot act to assist the police and take part in the ongoing operation in Karachi. However, the Sindh government’s top law officers insist the Rangers can continue their action even without the renewal of powers.

“There is no dispute on the Rangers’ deployment and powers and we will resolve this issue within two days,” additional advocate-general Mustafa Mahesar told The Express Tribune. He said that a notification will be issued with retrospective effect, which will cover the past legal action to be taken by paramilitary force in dealing with law and order.

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