Crackdown against criminals: LEAs to get 20,000 bulletproof vests

Rangers await special powers to investigate and prosecute.

KARACHI:

The police and Rangers have received the approval to procure 20,000 bulletproof vests and helmets as they prepare for the targeted operation against criminals in Karachi.

The approval was given by Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, who also holds the portfolio of home department, on Saturday. According to home department officials, the government will announce a tender for this connection soon.

On Wednesday, federal interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan promised a ‘surgical’ operation in the port city within two or three days but the delegation of powers to Rangers has yet to be done. Khan had announced that special powers will be given to Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, to not only conduct raids but also investigate and prosecute. However, the government has yet to decide how the Rangers will be given such powers given the 18th Amendment.

According to officials privy to the matter, the government is still confused as to the procedure of granting special powers. “We are still busy trying to figure out which kind of special powers, the government can give the Rangers because it is a sensitive matter,” a government official told The Express Tribune. “All we know is that the Rangers have the training to protect the borders and are not meant for any city or its citizens.”

The official admitted to the reluctance on the part of the government given the role of the paramilitary forces during the 90s operation and the accusations of ‘extrajudicial’ killings. Nevertheless, the final decision is likely to be taken at the All Parties Conference scheduled in Islamabad today (Sunday).

Another senior police officer explained the difference in training of police and Rangers. “We have to think several times before opening even a single fire even we are in the violent area but the Rangers are trained to shoot a suspect before he shoots them.”

“We do not have any objections if the government gives special powers to the Rangers as police already welcomed the government’s decision,” clarified District East police chief Captain (retd) Tahir Naveed. “Of course, the Rangers are experts in conducting raids, arrests, commando actions and handling weapons but we are experts in the law and investigations.”

On the operation deadline that passed, DIG Naveed said the police are already conducting raids and arrests in the city, especially in sensitive areas. “I am just asking my police force to work with sincerity for their country,” he said, adding that they cannot boast of any significant progress in the past two or three days but the police morale is high. “It does not matter who leads the operation,” he said, dismissively. “The police will lead the operation when they have any information and the Rangers will lead the operation with the help of the police if they have any information.”

For their part, the Rangers said they cannot start the operation unless a notification is issued. “We are taking action in different areas but that is routine activity,” said a senior Rangers official. “We arrest the suspects and hand them over to the police because we do not have special powers yet.”

Reasons for delay

A member of the special cabinet committee to make laws to empower the Rangers, Shahadat Awan, said they would suggest the federal government either brings an amendment or makes a new law. “The law would be made by the federal government but we still have to discuss this issue and send our proposals to the federal government,” he said.

Sindh chief secretary Muhammad Eijaz Chaudhry is, however, optimistic. “Even though, this is a very important and complex issue, people will hear good news soon,” he said, dismissing reports of rifts between the provincial and federal governments. “The Rangers have already started action and situation is somewhat better.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2013.