‘Attacks to be handled with iron fist’

CM calls for LEAs to coordinate efforts against militants

KARACHI: Expressing his anger and dismay over grenade attacks in separate areas of Sindh on Friday, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah termed the incidents 'intolerable' and said they must be 'handled with an iron fist.'

Three grenade attacks in Ghotki, Karachi and Larkana had left four people dead, including two Rangers personnel, and several others injured.

Presiding over an urgent meeting on law and order at the CM House, Shah stated that more coordinated efforts were needed to tighten the noose around those responsible for the acts.

Sindh Inspector General of Police Mushtaq Ahmed Mahar briefed the meeting about the Ghotki blast, upon which the CM pointed out that the similar blast in Larkana, without any loss of life, may have been carried out by the same group with the same intentions.

Shah directed law enforcement agencies to strengthen their coordinated efforts to curb the activities of militants taking advantage of the government's preoccupation with the ongoing pandemic.

Directing Mahar to conduct a thorough inquiry and submit a report, he further ordered law enforcement agencies to increase patrolling and launch an intelligence-based operation against criminals in all of Sindh's districts, including its border areas.

The meeting also decided to strengthen intelligence work at the borders with other provinces, as the CM called for zero tolerance against terrorists and their facilitators.

"I will not allow any criminals to take advantage of the current crisis," Shah maintained.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 20^th, 2020.