Law and order: IGP claims ‘third force’ behind sectarian violence
CM directs police to expedite acquisition of equipment, restore peace in the city.
Sindh Chief Minister chairing the law and order meeting at the Chief Minister house on Saturday. PHOTO: APP
KARACHI:
Sindh IGP Iqbal Mehmood has blamed a 'third force' for the recent incidents of sectarian killings in the city. He added that the perpetrators wanted to destroy the city's peace.
Mehmood was addressing a law and order meeting chaired by the chief minister at the CM House on Saturday. He revealed that the Sindh Police had proof against this force and would soon take the perpetrators to task. He said the crime rate had seen a significant decrease compared to the period before the targeted operation.
Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah directed the IGP to delegate the investigation of the recent incidents of sectarian violence to an officer of DIG rank, who would be tasked to submit a report within a week. He warned the police to ensure such incidents did not happen in the future. He was of the opinion that the implications of incidents of sectarian violence were detrimental to the city's law and order.
Meanwhile, the Government of Sindh has decided to seek the services of the armed forces to train recruits in the police department.
The chief minister directed the police officials to provide fool-proof security to professionals, including lawyers and doctors, who were being targeted for extortion. "The protection of life and property of individuals should be our main priority," he said.
Shah clarified that the targeted operation was divided into different stages: starting from the arrests of the criminals to investigation, prosecution and conviction. He directed the officers to show proof of the performance rather than projecting figures of encounters and arrests.
Shah directed the officials to expedite the procurement of 100 bulletproof vehicles, 50 APCs, latest arms and ammunition and other equipment for which government had allocated Rs5 billion.
He ordered the prosecutor-general to follow the cases of the targeted operation properly and also refer the more serious cases to the Home Department to shift them outside the city.
Speaking about the illegal hydrants business, Shah directed the officials to destroy the illegal hydrants and asked the chief secretary to take action against the land grabbers. The Sindh Minister for Information, Sharjeel Inam Memon, while talking to the media, revealed that the meeting discussed the establishment of well-equipped check posts, especially at the borders of the province and at the peripheries of major cities such as Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur to curb the smuggling of arms, ammunition and explosives.
8 to 10 criminal cases will be shifted outside Karachi
Memon went on to say that at least eight to 10 cases will be shifted to courts outside Karachi each month. "We will also not allow the construction of madrassas without prior approval of the relevant authority."
On the other hand, IGP Mehmood told the meeting that 250 motorcycles had been deployed for patrolling duty in the busiest areas of the metropolis and that the vacant check posts along the Super Highway would also be re-manned soon.
98 criminals booked under PPO
The meeting was also informed that 98 criminals had been arrested under the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance and joint investigation teams were probing the cases.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 13th, 2014.
Sindh IGP Iqbal Mehmood has blamed a 'third force' for the recent incidents of sectarian killings in the city. He added that the perpetrators wanted to destroy the city's peace.
Mehmood was addressing a law and order meeting chaired by the chief minister at the CM House on Saturday. He revealed that the Sindh Police had proof against this force and would soon take the perpetrators to task. He said the crime rate had seen a significant decrease compared to the period before the targeted operation.
Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah directed the IGP to delegate the investigation of the recent incidents of sectarian violence to an officer of DIG rank, who would be tasked to submit a report within a week. He warned the police to ensure such incidents did not happen in the future. He was of the opinion that the implications of incidents of sectarian violence were detrimental to the city's law and order.
Meanwhile, the Government of Sindh has decided to seek the services of the armed forces to train recruits in the police department.
The chief minister directed the police officials to provide fool-proof security to professionals, including lawyers and doctors, who were being targeted for extortion. "The protection of life and property of individuals should be our main priority," he said.
Shah clarified that the targeted operation was divided into different stages: starting from the arrests of the criminals to investigation, prosecution and conviction. He directed the officers to show proof of the performance rather than projecting figures of encounters and arrests.
Shah directed the officials to expedite the procurement of 100 bulletproof vehicles, 50 APCs, latest arms and ammunition and other equipment for which government had allocated Rs5 billion.
He ordered the prosecutor-general to follow the cases of the targeted operation properly and also refer the more serious cases to the Home Department to shift them outside the city.
Speaking about the illegal hydrants business, Shah directed the officials to destroy the illegal hydrants and asked the chief secretary to take action against the land grabbers. The Sindh Minister for Information, Sharjeel Inam Memon, while talking to the media, revealed that the meeting discussed the establishment of well-equipped check posts, especially at the borders of the province and at the peripheries of major cities such as Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur to curb the smuggling of arms, ammunition and explosives.
8 to 10 criminal cases will be shifted outside Karachi
Memon went on to say that at least eight to 10 cases will be shifted to courts outside Karachi each month. "We will also not allow the construction of madrassas without prior approval of the relevant authority."
On the other hand, IGP Mehmood told the meeting that 250 motorcycles had been deployed for patrolling duty in the busiest areas of the metropolis and that the vacant check posts along the Super Highway would also be re-manned soon.
98 criminals booked under PPO
The meeting was also informed that 98 criminals had been arrested under the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance and joint investigation teams were probing the cases.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 13th, 2014.