Rangers claim they can stop target killings in one month

Force’s top officials tell parliamentary panel they just need funds and a free hand.

ISLAMBAD:

As the authorities struggle to contain the frequent outbreaks of target killings in Karachi, paramilitary forces have made a strong-worded offer to the government: Give us one new helicopter, 800 bulletproof jackets and a free hand in the city, and we will eliminate the phenomenon within one month.

The Pakistan Rangers Sindh is said to have been long denied by the government the required resources to combat the alarming violence in Karachi –– which has meant that the paramilitary force’s success in controlling target killings in Karachi has been minimal.

The force is facing financial troubles and requires close to half a billion rupees and a new helicopter to replace its old one, which was grounded last month.

Official documents available with The Express Tribune reveal that this offer was made by the brass of the Pakistan Rangers during a closed-door briefing given to a parliamentary body which had visited Karachi. The meeting was said to have been called to discuss the issue of target killing, and deputy director-general (DDG) of the Rangers briefed the parliamentary panel on the overall law and order situation.

“If the government of Sindh gives us free hand, we can stop the situation of targeted killing within one month,” a determined DDG Rangers was said to have claimed in the meeting, adding that the force was facing serious shortage of required resources and equipment.

The parliamentary committee has now brought this offer into the notice of interior ministry which is the controlling authority at the federal level.

“For us, this is not an impossible mission to pull off,” the parliamentarians were told.

According to sources, the government had long ignored requests by the paramilitary force for equipment and funding to combat target killings as well as the several mafias operating in the city. In addition, law-enforcers have also complained about political expediencies playing havoc with efforts to control the city’s law and order situation.

Now, the sources said, the Rangers authorities had now formally told the government that it could eliminate targeted killings if it were given what it needs – most importantly a ‘free hand’.

However, the sources said, there was little hope that interior ministry would give a free hand to the force keeping political interests in view. One source, who was present in the meeting, said that not a single member of the parliamentary body seemed to be too enthusiastic about the Rangers’ offer.









Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2011.