Measured security: For extortion-infested industrial areas, more pickets

Businessmen say they want to scan imported containers for weapons.

KARACHI:

The Rangers have increased security in Karachi’s industrial areas after a meeting between Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and the business community.

Gen. Kayani told Rangers DG Ejaz Chaudhry to address the security concerns of the businessmen. “New pickets have been set up in five major industrial zones, including Korangi, SITE, Landhi, Federal B Area and North Karachi, while more Rangers have been deployed as well,” said a source from the Rangers.

Site Association of Trade and Industry president Wahab Lakhani told The Express Tribune that DG Chaudhry had a follow-up meeting on Thursday with the region’s commander. “Since my industrial zone is SITE, I met DG Chaudhry and Brig. Waseem Ayub. We discussed how the area could be made more secure,” he said.

Lakhani said that one of the problems they faced was boundaries. “SITE is an open area and anyone can enter it,” he said. “We want defined entry and exit points that are monitored by the rangers.” Although security was one of the key demands made by the businessmen, they also wanted to set up a direct hot-line with the DG Rangers Headquarters. A Ranger official said that this demand would be dealt with soon enough.

Meanwhile, the rangers kept up with their surgical operation on Friday. Two main areas targeted were Macchar Colony and Gulshan-e-Iqbal’s Sher Mohammad Goth. Sources said that nearly a dozen people were detained and seized weapons. A rangers spokesperson declined to give the number of arrests.

Scan imported containers

At a meeting held at Governor House on Friday, businessmen demanded that imported containers should be scanned to check if they have illegal weapons.

Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik met representatives from the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Pakistan Business Council, Overseas Chamber of Commerce and Investors Industry and Karachi Stock Exchange. While talking to The Express Tribune, KCCI president Saeed Shafi said that the law and order problem was a common one. He added that by deploying the paramilitary forces and police in the city there would be peace. “Automatic weapons are being smuggled into the city under different consignments and names and the administration does not check them,” he said. The KCCI president added that scanners should be set up at the entry points near the Pakistan-Afghan border. The businessmen and government official were informed that the suspect acquittal ratio was quite high and the president said that they were trying to amend the law. “The bills have been prepared and referred to the Senate standing committee on law to review,” said Malik. Businessman Siraj Kassim Teli said that the prime minister had assured them that he would talk to the Pakistan Telecom Association to block unregistered SIM cards which were being used by extortionists.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th,  2011.