close
Thursday March 28, 2024

Sindh Police not a B-team of Rangers

Home minister says all law enforcers working in tandem to eradicate crime and terror from the province

By Azeem Samar
October 06, 2015
Karachi
The provincial home minister, Sohail Anwar Khan Siyal, on Monday attempted to rubbish the notion that the role of the Sindh Police had lately been reduced to be a back-up force, or ‘B-team’, of the Sindh Rangers and said all law-enforcement agencies concerned were working in collaboration for combating crime and lawlessness in the province.
Speaking to the press at the Karachi Press Club on Monday, the home minister stressed that the role of
Sindh Police in combating lawless elements in the province, excluding Karachi, could not be disregarded. He emphasised that it was the police which had been targeting and killing notorious dacoits in rural areas of Sindh.
He said those who were criticising the Sindh Police must also take into account the incidents where personnel of traffic police had sacrificed their lives.
“No one should remain under a false impression that the Pakistan People’s Party-led Sindh government is going to roll back the ongoing targeted operation, which was primarily launched to eradicate terrorism,” he said. “It will continue till the last terrorist is eliminated from the province.”
The home minister said the provincial government, despite its limited resources, will go through the recruitment drive for the provincial police force and appoint more personnel as needed.
Talking about the security situation in Muharram, he said around 66,000 police personnel will be deployed, out of which between 24,000 and 26,000 will be in Karachi alone. He said Rangers troops will also be available to help buttress the provincial government for maintaining peace.
He claimed that recently Sindh government had been received a positive response from Pakistan Army when it requested their support in the form of a back-up force for the police.
When asked about the affairs of Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief, the home minister said it was the responsibility of the interior ministry to contact the relevant international agencies for ensuring the appearance of Altaf Hussain before different courts of law in case he was summoned here.

Fancy number plates
The home minister used the occasion to also clarify that during his of an industrial zone in the city earlier in the day, he had not presented any new formula or mechanism to resolve the use of fancy license plates on luxury cars and other four-wheelers in Karachi.
He said he had merely suggested to the industrialists concerned that if they faced any delay in issuance of official registration license plates for their new vehicles, then instead of using fancy registration plates they should use simple ones.
He said it was possible since the registration number was issued by the excise department immediately but license plates were often handed with after a considerable delay.