Chief Minister orders immediate steps to end violence
Karachi: Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah expressed his serious concerns over the resurgence of target killings in the city while presiding over a meeting of high-ranking officials on Thursday. The meeting was convened to take stock of the security situation and devise an effective strategy to improve law and order.
Shah, who is also in-charge of the Home Ministry, observed that the last few days had seen a notable increase in criminal activity. “Anti-social elements need to be handled with an iron first,” the chief minister said
“Our efforts should be to curb the activities of criminals and law enforcing agencies need to evolve an effective strategy.” Qaim said that Karachi was a big City with a rapidly increasing population.
He appreciated the overall performances of the police and Rangers, particularly the role they played in controlling the situation during the September 21 riots. Shah termed the current law and order as challenging and added that conditions prevailing in the province, particularly Karachi, needed to be controlled to provide some relief for traders, businessmen, industrialists, labourers and government employees.
Qaim directed the monitoring of internal and external roads, train junctions as well as bus stands to detect the movement of criminals, ammunition and drugs in and out of the province.
The provincial chief executive also directed increased police and Rangers patrolling to eliminate all criminal activity. He added there should be stringent checking for arms, ammunition and drugs in buses, trucks, trains or any other mode of transport in the province. Shah appreciated the fact that the investigation branch had been separated and directed that it be headed by a DIG Police. He also directed the police and Rangers to increase surprise raids and snap checking.
Shah emphasised the need for the investigation and operation branches of the police department to remain closely coordinated. IG Sindh Police Fayyaz Ahmed Leghari, in his presentation, informed the meeting that there were 3,116 crimes in 2012, which included 2,665 murders, 244 kidnappings for ransom, 98 robberies, 18 bank robberies and 89 highway robberies.
He said that in all 1,702 persons were killed in 2012 up to 27th September, out of which 299 were murdered in targeted incidents, 54 died in robbery bids, while 1,279 persons lost their lives to personal enmities. There were also 70 unidentified dead bodies.
Providing more recent statistics, he said that September 2012 saw 114 deaths up to the 27th of the month, out of which 16 were killed in targeted attacks, while the remainder died in other incidents.
The provincial police chief added that 72 personnel of law enforcing agencies became the victim of target killings, which include 65 policemen, four Intelligence Bureau officials, two Rangers and an officer of the excise police.
” 
” 
” 
” 
