Without approval: PM to inquire about changes in Karachi police

Appointments, transfers that Sindh government wants to make are feared to have negative impact on Karachi operation.

KARACHI: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will soon speak to Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah about possible appointment and transfer of certain officers in the Karachi police department without following the standard procedure, sources told Express News on Tuesday.

The appointments - if made - are feared to have a negative impact on the ongoing Karachi operation.

A three-member committee of DG Rangers, IG Sindh and CCPO was constituted at the start of the operation and it was decided that all appointments and transfers should be approved by the committee. However, the Sindh government is currently planning to transfer three DIGs and an SSP without consulting the committee.

At a high-level meeting convened at the headquarters today, the Rangers expressed concern over the issue and about the future of the targeted operation. Rangers had recommended that the current police setup should not change for at least a year.

Operation

The targeted operation started in Karachi after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited the metropolitan last year in a bid to devise a strategy to curb violence.

With the provincial government on board, the prime minister gave a go-ahead to the paramilitary force to conduct raids and arrest criminals with the help of the police. Subsequently, the operation began on September 7 and, since then, many suspects accused of target killing, extortion and anti-state activities have been arrested.

Law enforcement agencies recently turned its focus to banned militant outfits following the suicide attack that killed SP Chaudhry Aslam Khan and his colleagues on January 9.