Dealing with violence: Sindh government to launch ‘Special Fighter Force’
CM announces several new projects to combat targeted attacks on law enforcers.
Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah (C) chairs a meeting on law and order on Monday. PHOTO: NNI
KARACHI:
After the killings of 184 police personnel in the past year, the Sindh government has decided to launch a ‘Special Fighter Force’.
This was decided at a law and order meeting held at the CM House on Monday. The officials also decided to provide 300 bulletproof vans and 100 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) along with 15,000 bulletproof jackets to the police in Karachi.
“Around Rs6 billion are being released by the finance department to equip the police with the latest technology and other necessary equipments,” official sources told The Express Tribune. According to additional IG Shahid Hayat 300 mobiles will be purchased soon and will later be converted into bulletproof ones. “We can get 20 of them within a week,” he said.
The officials regretted the attacks in the past in which Crime Investigation Department’s SP Chaudhry Aslam and three Express Media Group employees were killed. They decided to recruit more retired army personnel in Sindh Police in addition to the recruitment plan of hiring 2,000 men. Nearly 1,200 ex-servicemen have already been inducted.
The law and order meeting presided over by the chief minister, Qaim Ali Shah, also approved the recruitment plan of 200 investigation officers and 200 legal prosecutors, along with a separate prosecution cell. The cell will work under the supervision of a DIG-ranked police officer with the help of private lawyers to speed up the prosecution of the cases registered under the targeted operation. Meanwhile, another cell to receive complaints about extortion would also be set up, the officials decided.
The meeting approved a total head money of Rs12 million for the five, most dangerous criminals in Sindh. The additional IG will prepare a list of 378 other criminals with recommended head money against each of them and submit it to the department within 48 hours.
Shah, who also holds the portfolio of the home department, was informed that the Sindh High Court has allowed the authorities to shift 51 dangerous, convicted criminals to other provinces.
APCs and jammers
The officials at the meeting approved five separate APCs for prisons. The prisons IG was directed to complete the process of installing jammers in the jails within a week.
According to the spokesperson for CM House, Shah also directed the additional chief secretary for home and the city commissioner to complete a list of government employees who are either involved in criminal activities or have escaped from duty and are getting salaries from the government regularly.
Unregistered SIMs
The officials were also told that mobile phone companies are not cooperating with the authorities to resolve the issue of illegal SIMs. They agreed that this was a big hurdle in establishing peace in the city and recommended the federal government ban fake SIMs. They also recommended NADRA carry out biometric verification of each individual to whom SIMs are issued.
The CM was informed that cases of target killings, extortion and kidnappings for ransom have been reduced to some extent. As many as 393 people have been killed in last five months when the targeted operation started. This is much less that the 1,228 killings between April and September, 2013.
The meeting was attended by information minister Sharjeel Memon, chief secretary Sajjad Saleem Hotiyana, home additional chief secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah, Sindh IG Shahid Nadeem Baloch, law secretary Meer Muhammad Shaikh, prosecutor general Sher Muhammad Shaikh and all DIGs in Karachi.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 21st, 2014.
After the killings of 184 police personnel in the past year, the Sindh government has decided to launch a ‘Special Fighter Force’.
This was decided at a law and order meeting held at the CM House on Monday. The officials also decided to provide 300 bulletproof vans and 100 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) along with 15,000 bulletproof jackets to the police in Karachi.
“Around Rs6 billion are being released by the finance department to equip the police with the latest technology and other necessary equipments,” official sources told The Express Tribune. According to additional IG Shahid Hayat 300 mobiles will be purchased soon and will later be converted into bulletproof ones. “We can get 20 of them within a week,” he said.
The officials regretted the attacks in the past in which Crime Investigation Department’s SP Chaudhry Aslam and three Express Media Group employees were killed. They decided to recruit more retired army personnel in Sindh Police in addition to the recruitment plan of hiring 2,000 men. Nearly 1,200 ex-servicemen have already been inducted.
The law and order meeting presided over by the chief minister, Qaim Ali Shah, also approved the recruitment plan of 200 investigation officers and 200 legal prosecutors, along with a separate prosecution cell. The cell will work under the supervision of a DIG-ranked police officer with the help of private lawyers to speed up the prosecution of the cases registered under the targeted operation. Meanwhile, another cell to receive complaints about extortion would also be set up, the officials decided.
The meeting approved a total head money of Rs12 million for the five, most dangerous criminals in Sindh. The additional IG will prepare a list of 378 other criminals with recommended head money against each of them and submit it to the department within 48 hours.
Shah, who also holds the portfolio of the home department, was informed that the Sindh High Court has allowed the authorities to shift 51 dangerous, convicted criminals to other provinces.
APCs and jammers
The officials at the meeting approved five separate APCs for prisons. The prisons IG was directed to complete the process of installing jammers in the jails within a week.
According to the spokesperson for CM House, Shah also directed the additional chief secretary for home and the city commissioner to complete a list of government employees who are either involved in criminal activities or have escaped from duty and are getting salaries from the government regularly.
Unregistered SIMs
The officials were also told that mobile phone companies are not cooperating with the authorities to resolve the issue of illegal SIMs. They agreed that this was a big hurdle in establishing peace in the city and recommended the federal government ban fake SIMs. They also recommended NADRA carry out biometric verification of each individual to whom SIMs are issued.
The CM was informed that cases of target killings, extortion and kidnappings for ransom have been reduced to some extent. As many as 393 people have been killed in last five months when the targeted operation started. This is much less that the 1,228 killings between April and September, 2013.
The meeting was attended by information minister Sharjeel Memon, chief secretary Sajjad Saleem Hotiyana, home additional chief secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah, Sindh IG Shahid Nadeem Baloch, law secretary Meer Muhammad Shaikh, prosecutor general Sher Muhammad Shaikh and all DIGs in Karachi.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 21st, 2014.