Operation clean-up: Law enforcers gear up for final showdown

KARACHI:

The federal government has decided to initiate the third and final stage of the targeted operation in the metropolis. The final round is expected to start in the last week of December.

Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan will visit Karachi a few days before the launch of the final stage when he will meet the governor, chief minister and officials of the law enforcement agencies.

In the third stage, law enforcers are expected to take steps against the leaders of political parties who are allegedly  harbouring criminals. Sources revealed that the law enforcers have already taken permission from the federal and provincial governments in this regard.

According to the police, more than 450 of the target killers and criminals arrested during the operation were found to have political affiliations. The government will send letters to these political parties in the upcoming week to show their stance on the status of these criminals.

“Joint operational teams will be constituted on district level that will take commando action with the help of the police and other law-enforcement agencies,” said the source. These teams will be equipped will latest weapons, binoculars, mobile phone signal jammers, armoured vehicles and other necessary equipment. Sources further said that special teams of investigators will conduct investigations from the criminals arrested in the final round and they will be charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act and Pakistan Protection Ordinance.

When contacted by The Express Tribune, District West police chief Javed Odho said, “We have arrested criminals affiliated with almost all the political parties in the city.”

Meanwhile, the special assistant to the chief minister, Waqar Mehdi, told The Express Tribune that the police had been given full assistance by the provincial government in terms of the equipment they required.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2013.