Sindh wants center to pay Rs27 bn for police improvement, rationalise power bill

Sindh cabinet decides to undertake massive vaccination campaign against polio, measles in the province.

KARACHI: The Sindh Cabinet on Saturday gave its approval to some of the decisions taken in the meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on May 14, 2014.

The May 14 meeting between the prime minister, governor Sindh Dr Ishratul Ebad, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in Karachi, had decided to expedite the ongoing targeted operation with full force and maintain law and order situation in Karachi.

On Saturday, the Sindh Cabinet recommended that the federal government provide them a financial package of up to Rs27 billion to pay for up gradation of police stations, acquiring equipment, that will help it make the targeted operations a success.

The cabinet also decided to establish a separate Counter Terrorism Department that would provide training to the Rapid Response Force (RRF) and help build legislation to clean up the Sindh Police of its black sheep.

The meeting, which was attended by all the provincial ministers, advisors and special assistants belonging to both the Pakistan Peoples Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement also discussed matters relating issues of illegal immigrants, the first power policy of Sindh government and eradication of polio, measles and Rubella virus from Sindh.

Cabinet members expressed their apprehensions over the polio cases and spread of measles in District Thatta. They decided in favour of a massive vaccination campaign with 100% coverage against the diseases with public participation

The chief minister expressed his dissatisfaction over the performance of NARA for failing to register aliens and eradicating illegal immigrants from Karachi, before recommending that the federal government merge Nara with NADRA.

Sensitive police station and jails

Declaring 26 police stations of Karachi and three prisons, including Karachi, Hyderabad and Larkana Central prisons as sensitive, the cabinet approved a move for increasing salaries of officers deputed at these locations.

The cabinet also decided to strengthen security at these locations by bolstering the force and reinforcing their structures, especially of the prisons. Five convicts had been shifted to prisons outside the province and 77 from Karachi to other prisons in the province.

The Cabinet also directed the IGP Sindh for providing security to all mosques, imam barghas, mandirs, religious places of minorities, especially in other parts of Sindh.

Chief secretary Sindh told the participants of the meeting that schemes for shifting the ATC Courts to Malir Cantt was underway. He added that red warrants against criminals who have fled the country have been sent to the federal government.

He added that recruitment of an additional 10,000 men, 2,000 former army personnel, 400 investigation officers for the police force in the province was in progress.

Giving a briefing on cases, he said that of the 705 cases in which a charge-sheet had been presented in the anto-terror courts, 59 have been decided.

Acting IGP Sindh Ghulam Haider Jamali told the Sindh Cabinet that the targeted operation had reduced murders by 33%, and caused a 65% drop in target killings. Street crime was down by 6% and extortion cases were down by 9% decrease in registration of extortion cases. 188 suspects had been arrested and challaned during the ongoing operation. Further, 850 murder suspects have been arrested pending trial.

Draft power policy

With Sindh under criticism for not paying its bill and facing a power cut off from the national grid, the Cabinet discussed and deliberated over the draft of a power policy for the province.

Tabled by the Advisor to CM for Energy and Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah, it was decided that the Cabinet members would go through the proposed draft and share their recommendations within 15 days.

The draft policy proposes the establishment of a Sindh Transmission and Dispatch Company (STDC) to transmit the power generated by Sindh Government.

An establishment of Sindh Power Development Board (SPDB) and NEPRA like institutions in Sindh is also part of the proposal in the draft policy document.

The provincial energy secretary during in his briefing was of the view that Sindh government was actively launching the power projects on ADP and PPP mode of investment and trying its best to at least bridge the power shortage by enhancing its own production capacity over the next four years.

It was recommended that renewable energy such as solar energy and wind energy be encouraged to resolve the grievances of the people.

The cabinet, expressing its apprehension over excessive billing and increasing durations of load-shedding from 16 to 20 hours in Sindh, recommended to the federal government to reconcile its bill for justified payment and reduce load-shedding. Failing to do so, it was resolved that the matter will be raised in Council of Common Interests.

For his part, the chief minister wanted WAPDA to justify their bills, adding that the Sindh government will pay only genuine bills. He further complained that nothing had been done even after both the prime minister and federal minister for water and power had ordered the concerned authorities to resolve the problems.