Progress report: 'Sindh govt has overcome target killings'

Sindh chief minister says government has succeeded in maintaining law and order situation in the province.

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah presented a progress report of the government during the last four years in the Sindh Assembly on Tuesday. The report suggests that the Sindh government has overcome the problem of targeted killings.

According to the report, incidents of targeted killings had reached an alarming state in July-August 2011, but due to the operations launched by law enforcement agencies, the situation was contained.

Between the years 2010 and 2011, three target killers were killed while about 303 target killers were arrested.

Shah said that the government has succeeded in maintaining the law and order situation.

He said that some people were being used in Lyari and that conspiracies were being hatched against the government.

“The government did not conduct any operation in Lyari. It was just a targeted action,” he said. “The government is planning to launch a probe into the recent killings in Lyari that claimed more than 40 lives. We are also thinking to compensate the heirs of the people who died.”

The chief minister said that the incidents of kidnapping for ransom have not surfaced in the rural areas in a long time.

“In 2010 and 2011, 265 cases of extortion were registered with the police out of which 203 accused were arrested,” said Shah.

The Sindh police have shown considerable success in busting terror attempts.  “Thirty-five terrorists belonging to Jihadi organisations were killed, while 330 suspects were arrested along with a huge cache of arms.”

He also said that the police have launched an operation against robbers in interior Sindh. He said that during the operations 302 dacoits carrying reward money worth Rs108 million were killed and arrested.

“From Karachi to Kashmore, the government provided 1.4 million women with different grants under women empowerment programmes.”