Lyari violence: No compromise on Karachi situation, says president
President meets Sindh cabinet members and Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah to discuss Karachi situation.
KARACHI:
President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday appealed to all political parties to cooperate with the government in maintaining peace in Karachi.
The president, during a meeting with Sindh cabinet members and Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, said that the government is focusing on maintaining peace and protecting life and property in Karachi, and wants to improve the situation in Lyari in an effective manner.
He added that action will be taken against criminal elements and a political solution will also be devised to deal with them.
‘Lyari operation has ended’
After giving a 72-hour deadline to the criminal elements in Lyari, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Friday that the operation in Lyari has ended.
Speaking to Express News, Malik said, “We cannot hold the entire area hostage because of mere four-five people. The police and Rangers have only surrounded the area, while the forces have been pulled out from Lyari.”
The interior minister said that maximum electricity will be restored by evening, while telephone lines were restored around 6am in the morning. He said that electricity transformers which were destroyed because of the shelling will be reinstalled in the area, adding that the water supply which was disrupted will also be reconnected.
He said that justice will be done to Uzair Baloch – the head of the banned Peoples Amn Committee (PAC) and “Lyari’s most wanted” – and his accomplices. “If Uzair Baloch does not trust the police then he should surrender before the Rangers.”
“I came on the commands of President Asif Ali Zardari to make sure that the gangsters in Lyari do not try to take law in their hands. If they do so, we will continue to launch indiscriminate action against them which will not be half-hearted. We will chase them wherever they go.”
He said that peace will be restored in the area within the next four-five days.
Police has been involved in an operation to flush out gangsters from Lyari for the last seven days, facing tough resistance from the miscreants.
President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday appealed to all political parties to cooperate with the government in maintaining peace in Karachi.
The president, during a meeting with Sindh cabinet members and Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, said that the government is focusing on maintaining peace and protecting life and property in Karachi, and wants to improve the situation in Lyari in an effective manner.
He added that action will be taken against criminal elements and a political solution will also be devised to deal with them.
‘Lyari operation has ended’
After giving a 72-hour deadline to the criminal elements in Lyari, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Friday that the operation in Lyari has ended.
Speaking to Express News, Malik said, “We cannot hold the entire area hostage because of mere four-five people. The police and Rangers have only surrounded the area, while the forces have been pulled out from Lyari.”
The interior minister said that maximum electricity will be restored by evening, while telephone lines were restored around 6am in the morning. He said that electricity transformers which were destroyed because of the shelling will be reinstalled in the area, adding that the water supply which was disrupted will also be reconnected.
He said that justice will be done to Uzair Baloch – the head of the banned Peoples Amn Committee (PAC) and “Lyari’s most wanted” – and his accomplices. “If Uzair Baloch does not trust the police then he should surrender before the Rangers.”
“I came on the commands of President Asif Ali Zardari to make sure that the gangsters in Lyari do not try to take law in their hands. If they do so, we will continue to launch indiscriminate action against them which will not be half-hearted. We will chase them wherever they go.”
He said that peace will be restored in the area within the next four-five days.
Police has been involved in an operation to flush out gangsters from Lyari for the last seven days, facing tough resistance from the miscreants.