Sindh Secretariat imperiled by security breaches

On-ground security arrangements are insufficient to secure the safety of the state buildings located within the premis

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KARACHI:

The Sindh Secretariat, located in the Red Zone of Karachi, is home to several offices of the Sindh government including the Sindh High Court, the Provincial Assembly, and the offices of important government officials including Provincial Ministers, the Chief Secretary Sindh, Provincial Ombudsman and the secretaries of various other departments. Furthermore, Sindh cabinet meetings are also held here under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister of Sindh.

In recent times, the security of the Sindh Secretariat has been comprised due to the lack of necessary surveillance arrangements on-ground. Where on the one hand, the road passing between the various buildings of the Secretariat, Shahrah-e-Kemal Ataturk has been opened from both sides for the flow of traffic, on the other hand, the poor internal arrangements of the Secretariat have allowed the unsupervised movement of visitors.

According to authorities, Shahrah-e-Kemal Ataturk, adjacent to the secretariat buildings, has been opened for general traffic on the order of the court. However, despite the ban, dozens of unauthorized vehicles are allowed to park adjacent to the walls of the Sindh Secretariat and near the main gate on a daily basis. This is in spite of the fact that the Traffic Police have displayed several boards at small distances outside the walls of the Secretariat, clearly mentioning that private vehicles should be parked at the People's Square Parking.

A circular dated November 13, 2023, is still visible on the wall next to the lift installed on the second floor of the New Sindh Secretariat. This circular, issued under the signature of the former Assistant Director of Security of the General Administration Department Sindh, Mirza Amir Baig, contains instructions for foolproof arrangements for the Sindh Secretariat. As per the circular, all government employees are required to wear their job cards and use the walk-through gate while entering the Secretariat. In addition, it has been instructed to appoint lady police personnel to conduct body search of women entering the secretariat for work.

In practice, however, none of these instructions are being implemented. Although walk-through gates are installed at the main doors of the secretariat buildings, most people do not enter through them. Similarly, the employees of the Secretariat do not wear their job cards when entering while no female police officers are deployed at the entrance gates either. For this reason, female visitors to the Secretariat are allowed to pass without any search.

In this regard, The Express Tribune contacted Mirza Amir Baig, who had issued the security arrangements circular. Baig stated that he has been transferred from the security section and thus cannot talk on the issue. When The Express Tribune contacted the spokesperson of the Chief Secretary Sindh, Farhat Janori, he described the internal and external security arrangements as satisfactory.

It should be noted that in the past, due to the threat of terrorism, this section of Shahrah-e-Kemal Ataturk, which passes in front of the Secretariat and related buildings, was closed on both sides by installing gates while the road leading to the Secretariat in front of Kabutar Chowrangi on Court Road had also been closed in the latter half of 2010.

Precedent shows that such measures are crucial to maintain the security of state buildings in the country. After the terrorist attack on the Karachi Stock Exchange in 2020, the Sindh government had once again tightened the security arrangements of the Sindh Secretariat, under which unrelated people were prevented from entering the premises unnecessarily, and government employees were allowed to enter only after showing their job cards. In addition, all vehicles without stickers were banned from entering Shahrah-e-Kemal Ataturk in front of the Secretariat.