Pakistan

Apex committee decision: Sindh to mount crackdown on ‘RAW affiliates’

The meeting decided that targeted operation will continue till all terrorists are eliminated

Hafeez Tunio July 13, 2015

Sindh CM Qaim Ali Shah speaks during the apex committee meeting. PHOTO: PPI

KARACHI:

Sindh’s apex committee on Sunday decided to mount a crackdown on the local collaborators of international spy agencies like India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and those involved in acts of terror across the province.

The committee has formed a task force – headed by the home secretary and including Sindh Rangers, police and intelligence agencies officials – to coordinate with it and provide it with technical support.

The meeting, held with Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah in the chair, was attended by the province’s top officials including Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan as well as Corps Commander Karachi Lieutenant General Naveed Mukhtar and Sindh Rangers’ Director General (DG) Major General Bilal Akbar.

Read: RAW behind terrorist activities in Pakistan: Foreign secretary

“Today’s meeting reaffirmed its commitment to wipe out terrorism from Karachi and other districts of Sindh and continue the targeted operation till all terrorists are eliminated,” Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon told reporters.

He said the committee also decided to take terrorists, as well as their abettors and financers, to task.

“A comprehensive list is being prepared of abettors and financers of terrorism and soon the law enforcement agencies will take action against them,” he said.

The minister said terrorists affiliated with banned outfits were on the run and the apex committee had decided to keep pursuing them.

“All the hideouts of these terrorists will be destroyed in Karachi,” he said, adding that action would also be taken against the seminaries being run by these militant organisations.

Hinting that differences between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led Sindh government and security establishment were resolved, Memon said that the provincial government would give more powers to the Rangers and the provincial assembly would endorse such a measure.

“The Rangers will be given more powers and the recent extension given in these powers will be endorsed by the Sindh Assembly by a majority vote,” he said.

Defending the provincial government, Memon said the law and order situation in Sindh was better than other provinces, but some elements were creating hype.

The minister contradicted his own government’s earlier claims that the Rangers conducted an operation in government offices without taking the CM into confidence. “The chief minister is the captain of the targeted operation and all Rangers’ actions are being carried out with the CM’s approval,” he said.

However, he refused to say whether the raid on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) headquarters, Nine Zero, was also carried out with the CM’s approval.

Read: India funded militants in Kashmir to counter ISI: ex-RAW chief

Official sources said that during the meeting the military leadership expressed concern over the slow implementation on the National Action Plan and feared that it could cause problems in rooting out terrorism.

The chief minister assured the corps commander that the government would try its level best to implement the decisions being made by the apex committee, they added.

Bilawal meets corps commander, DG Rangers

Before the apex committee meeting PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto held a meeting with the corps commander Karachi and the DG Rangers.

Sources said the PPP chairman expressed his party’s concern over Rangers raids at various government departments and stressed the need to have strong coordination while taking action against criminals and their supporters.

Sources said the military leadership was of the view that due to negligence on the part of the Sindh government some terrorists had taken shelter in government departments.

DG Rangers Major General Bilal Akbar assured Bilawal that no unilateral action would be taken. “All actions will be taken in consultation with the Sindh government,” he was quoted as saying.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2015.

COMMENTS (7)

S.R.H. Hashmi | 9 years ago | Reply @ Bobb Mack According to Supreme Court of Pakistan, quite a few parties have militants wings but you seem to be singling out MQM. While PML-N and some other parties may not have militant wings as such, this is because they use their police as their militant wing. We all saw how PML-N’s militant wing, the Punjab Police mowed down fourteen people at the peaceful assembly at Model Town and wounded another eighty through direct shooting and the top leaders escaped all responsibility for it. There is nothing wrong with the classification Punjabi, Sindhi, Baloch, Pakhtun, Mohajir etc so long as these are used purely as an identity: no more and no less. And belonging to one of these is not an exclusive condition. One can belong to any of these categories and can at the same time also be Pakistani, an Asian, a Muslim or believer in any other religion, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, so long as people understand that belonging to any of these categories does not make them any better or any worse just because of being that. As for your allegation of MQM’s association with Pakistan’s enemy agencies, I think you have not kept abreast with the latest news. The London Police has already distanced itself from the story, which was based on the alleged confessions made before it. People with better memories will remember MQM’s alleged Jinnahpur conspiracy, complete with maps which was supposedly uncovered by senior army officers but was later admitted as being a complete fabrication by other senior army officers. Now about statements by Altaf Hussain, well, when harassed too much and pushed to the wall, people sometimes over-react and that is what one could put it down to. The ethnic tension in Karachi was created by Ayub Khan and his son who wanted to punish Karachiites for supporting Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah against Ayub Khan and the city never recovered from that. By the way, Air Marshal Asghar Khan had also supported Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah. And as the things turned uglier with various Ittehads (alliances) formed against Urdu-speaking people, they were forced to organize themselves against the onslaught which is why MQM was formed nearly four decades after the creation of Pakistan and not right at the time of partition. You hold MQM responsible for all that is wrong in Karachi. However, you should note that except during Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s rule, MQM did not enjoy much real power even when they were part of the coalition government because due to not holding of the population census, more assembly seats are allotted to rural Sindh, giving People’s Party a simple majority in Sindh Assembly even without MQM support. Not only that, the Peoples Party has repeatedly hacked down the Sindh Local Government Act , stripping it of all powers, and has not held local government elections even under this much diluted SLGA, thus depriving MQM of a role in managing Karachi even through the local government despite holding mandate of the people of Karachi. Peoples Party’s interest in Karachi can be judged by the fact that the ageing gentleman who has been appointed Sindh Chief Minister for life does not even seem to be sure of Karachi population and describes it variously as twenty crore or even twenty-two and a half crore. So, blaming MQM for every thing that is wrong in the city seems unjust. If the D.G. Rangers, Karachi Corps Commander, and the army chief, who is also taking interest in the affairs of Karachi really want to improve things in Karachi, then the real stakeholders of Karachi: The Urdu-speaking people, Sindhis, Pakhtuns, Punjabis, Balochs and others who have made Karachi their home must be given a right to run their city at least through a duly empowered local government, instead of the city being ruled through remote control from interior of Sindh by a team which has little interest in the city except for what they can take out of it, and whose head does not have even the faintest idea of the population of Karachi, much less of its real problems. Karachi

M.AZAM | 9 years ago | Reply Our patriot Pak army so may called Military Establishment, is our nation property, they are our body part, like circulation of blood, nation including me, want to give our last droop of blood, just asked, nation never want our Pak army need to meet any political parties, specially those who are responsible let downing Pakistan, meeting with, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with D.G. Rangers and Karachi Corps Commander is really disappointing, Pak army, doing best, requesting do the needful, Pak nation’s every thing is for you, do your best, with thousand apologies don’t make any meeting with any political parties, you know, who is who, we are not in apposition to bear any much lose, all nation looking to almighty Allah, and believe on Pak arm, Pak arm ZINDAPAD, Pakistan PAINDABAD.

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Bobb Mack | 9 years ago | Reply @S.R.H. Hashmi: To become a credible part of these meetings MQM must openly dissociate itself from terror and the mess they have created in Karachi. They also need to stop playing Mohajir card as the current generation can hardly be anything other than true Pakistanis. Recent allegations about MQM association with Pakistan enemy agencies have shaken the nation and I think MQM supporters and voters must now look for new constructive leadership which should restore their tarnished image. They should see Altaf Hussain as a liability particularly when he hints at war in every Karachi street.

S.R.H. Hashmi | 9 years ago | Reply Apart from the usual statements like resolve to eliminate terrorism from Sindh, some significant things that came out as a result of the Apex Committee meeting and the related meeting of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with D.G. Rangers and Karachi Corps Commander can be described as follows: 1- The military leadership expressed concern over the slow implementation on the National Action Plan and feared that it could cause problems in eliminating terrorism. 2- The Committee formed a task force –headed by the Home Secretary and including Sindh Rangers, police and intelligence agencies officials – to coordinate the activities and provide technical support. 3- In response to concerns expressed by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari over Rangers raids at various government departments, D.G. Rangers assured Bilawal that there would be no unilateral action by Rangers in this respect and all actions will be taken in consultation with the Sindh Government. And that means that Sindh C.M’s letter to D.G.. Rangers and his expression of reservations to the Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan – which Chaudhry Nisar promised to address – plus the extension of Rangers powers by the CM for only one month and limited to Karachi, had the desired outcome. And MQM has been left out in the cold, with the party supported by the vast majority of Karachiites and holding its mandates not having any representation on the committees that are to decide matters relating to Karachi. Perhaps it could be claimed that as a person nominated by Altaf Hussain, Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad already sits on the Apex Committee as Sindh Governor. However, due to his inability to remove grievances of MQM workers - which technically he is unable to do as representative of the federation - both Altaf Hussain and MQM have totally disassociated themselves with Dr. Ishart-ul-Ebad and have even asked him to resign, which he has not done yet. As such, he could hardly be considered to be a representative of MQM. Karachi

Asif | 9 years ago | Reply “All actions will be taken in consultation with the Sindh government,”? Meaning Bilawal will have enough time to warn his goons to escape.

Neutral | 9 years ago | Reply Definitely army and rangers are playing their part sincerely . Chief Minister sindh is just another face in the meeting.

Junaid | 9 years ago | Reply Please do not keep this story going on. We heard enough of RAW in media briefing. Just prove this is court with hard fact and proofs. I am denying to believe this foreign hand theory unless you prove in court of law in our courts either in high court or Islamabad SC.

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