Tight security: Govt to use former nazim’s rules, special spots for rallies
President asks Sindh govt to set up task force to prevent violence in Karachi.
KARACHI:
President Asif Ali Zardari has directed the Sindh government to establish a task force comprising the police and intelligence agencies to control violence in the city.
At a law and order meeting organised on Monday at Bilawal House, he asked the provincial government to regulate rallies and public gatherings in accordance with the plans devised by former city nazim Niamatullah Khan. Governor Ishratul Ebad Khan, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, provincial ministers, the chief secretary, IG Mushtaq Shah attended.
The president suggested that the government devise a mechanism to seek approval for public gatherings and rallies in some specific areas. Some places should be off-limits for political activities.
The attack on the Awami Tahreek rally, the firing on the bus in Benazirabad and the murder of Muzaffar Bhutto of Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz, were discussed. The governor said that the former city nazim, Niamatullah Khan, had designated 19 public places for rallies and other political activities. “I think Karachi would have not faced such carnage if the plan had been implemented,” he said. The president told the government that it should try to implement the former district nazim’s plan.
The chief minister informed the president that he had ordered a judicial inquiry into the attack on the Mohabbat-e-Sindh rally of May 22 and had written a letter to the chief justice of the Sindh High Court to nominate a judge. The president asked him to expedite the investigation and report to him within a week.
Officials said that the president criticised the police and law-enforcement agencies. “Who are these terrorists and how is advanced weaponry entering Karachi?” he asked IG Mushtaq Shah.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2012.
President Asif Ali Zardari has directed the Sindh government to establish a task force comprising the police and intelligence agencies to control violence in the city.
At a law and order meeting organised on Monday at Bilawal House, he asked the provincial government to regulate rallies and public gatherings in accordance with the plans devised by former city nazim Niamatullah Khan. Governor Ishratul Ebad Khan, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, provincial ministers, the chief secretary, IG Mushtaq Shah attended.
The president suggested that the government devise a mechanism to seek approval for public gatherings and rallies in some specific areas. Some places should be off-limits for political activities.
The attack on the Awami Tahreek rally, the firing on the bus in Benazirabad and the murder of Muzaffar Bhutto of Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz, were discussed. The governor said that the former city nazim, Niamatullah Khan, had designated 19 public places for rallies and other political activities. “I think Karachi would have not faced such carnage if the plan had been implemented,” he said. The president told the government that it should try to implement the former district nazim’s plan.
The chief minister informed the president that he had ordered a judicial inquiry into the attack on the Mohabbat-e-Sindh rally of May 22 and had written a letter to the chief justice of the Sindh High Court to nominate a judge. The president asked him to expedite the investigation and report to him within a week.
Officials said that the president criticised the police and law-enforcement agencies. “Who are these terrorists and how is advanced weaponry entering Karachi?” he asked IG Mushtaq Shah.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2012.