Sindh to provide mobile phone locators

Move aimed at controlling street crime in the city.

KARACHI: Addressing a long-standing demand of the business community, Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan has assured industrialists of Karachi that the government will provide sensitive mobile phone locator equipment to law enforcing agencies to control street crime in the city.

He was speaking to industrialists and businesspersons at the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (Kati) on Wednesday.

“Although we do not have funds, we will try to provide mobile locator equipment to our law enforcing agencies to control street crime,” Wasan said.

When the business community of Karachi met with Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani a few months ago to discuss the Karachi violence, he assured them of full support of elite agencies to control street crime in the city.

Businessmen were the first who called for army intervention in Karachi and pushed the government to control target killings.

Former Kati chairman Mian Zahid Hussain said the industrialists had told Kayani about lack of funds for mobile locator equipment owing to which the government’s control on street crime was negligible and it became the biggest problem for citizens. He said these equipment cost Rs50 million. Industrialists urged the home minister to increase the number of policemen because security challenges were growing phenomenally.

Businessmen said Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had provided mobile locator machines to the law enforcing agencies and other provinces should follow this example to curb mobile snatching.

Leading businessman SM Muneer said the Sindh government should activate a police welfare fund so that the business community could contribute along with the government to support the families of policemen.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 17^th,  2011.