Karachi operation: Sleeper cells still exist, says AIG Maher

Over 232 policemen and 27 Rangers have been killed in the line of duty since the beginning of the Karachi operation

As many as 232 policemen and 27 Rangers have been killed in the line of duty since the beginning of the Karachi operation on September 5, 2013, Karachi Police AIG Mushtaq Maher told media on Saturday.

In around 3,000 encounters, some 282 terrorists were killed, 38 kidnappers and 10 extortionists were arrested, and 15,400 weapons and several bulletproof jackets, rocket launchers and hand grenades were seized.

He went on to add that car-snatching incidents reported in the city were at their lowest in the past 15 years while motorcycle-snatching incidents were on the rise.

And while terror-related incidents have been reduced up to 60 per cent in the two years since the commencement of the Karachi operation, Maher added that sleeper cells of the banned outfits still exist in some areas nurturing terrorists.

"Some 35 per cent of the work remains to be completed to return peace to the city," he added.  “But this is not enough; we need to consolidate these successes by improving the strength of personnel at police stations and making use of technology to fight crime,” he stressed.

Read: Performance review: Rangers claim Karachi operation helped curb crime

Maher also said police plan to verify the record of some 7,000 private security agencies with the help of the Citizen Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) and update their data frequently.

“The purpose of the entire operation was to seize an ever increasing number of targeted killings, extortion and kidnapping for ransom and avoid loss of precious lives," he concluded.

Read: First stage of Karachi security operation complete: Rangers