KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah reviewing weekly law and order meeting has decided further intensify checking on Sindh-Balochistan border and director Inspector General of Sindh to hold tri-partite meeting of three Inspector generals of Police, Sindh-Balochistan and Punjab so that close coordination could be developed in the supreme interest of law order in the country in general and in Sindh in particular.
The meeting was held Wednesday at CM House and was attended by CM Advisor Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, IG Sindh Dr Kaleem Imam, Home Secretary Kazi Kabir, Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Shahalwani, Additional IG Karachi Dr Ameer Shaikh, Adl IG CTD Dr Waliullah Dal, DIGs of Karachi and the DIGs of other divisions participated in the meeting through video conferences.
AT the start of the meeting the chief minister took up two incidents, killing of a KDA employee at PECHS and firing by policemen in which a couple, husband and wife, sustained bullet injuries in Korangi area. The chief minister said that these incidents should not happen. How policemen open fire in the market areas where couple sustained injuries.
At this the IG police Dr Kaleem Imam said that he was personally monitoring investigation into the firing incident. The meeting agreed that in-service training pertaining to police operation in the city areas, snap checking methods, chasing of culprits in market and residential and behavioral guidelines would be given to policemen.
Home Secretary Kazi kabir pointed out that there were some police stations established at unauthorized buildings or places. At this the chief minister directed Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah and IG Police to sit together and identify proper places to shift the police stations there.
Similar complaints have also been received from Shaheed Banezairabad where women hostel has been taken over by the police. This should be stopped and the police should established their set up at appropriate and authorized places, Mr Shah said.
IG Police told the chief minister that during the last one week some 1700 checking have been conducted all over. During the checking more than three thousand vehicles were impound, including 2200 with fake number plates, 1500 without number plates and 1700 plying on transfer letters.
Additional IG Karachi Dr Ameer Shaikh suggested that a drive against number plates should be launched so that culprits could not use them. The chief minister pointed out that the Excise Minister has reported him that most of the registration number plates were ready but the owners were not collecting them.
Therefore, he directed IG Police to start operation against the vehicles using fancy number plates, fake government plates and driving vehicles on open letter without getting them transferred in their names. This operation would be started all over the province.
DIG South Sahrjeel Kharal told the chief minister that he had established a Street-watch Force and they newly recruited and freshly trained policemen have been posted in the force and they keep patrolling on their bikes and mobiles vehicles provided to them. Their checking has brought street crime down in District South, he said.
The chief minister pointed out in the middle of the main roads police started checking which not only causes traffic congestion but gives unimpressive impression. He allowed the police to continue this checking process but at least avoid morning office/school timings.
DIG Kharal said that 15 street criminals operating in organized gangs have been arrested, conducted six encounters in Lyari and arrested 16 criminals, seized 80 bikes and 70,000 literes of Iranian petrol.
In the meeting it was pointed out that some buses and other vehicles have set up separate tansk to bring Iranian Patrol from Balochistan. The non-custom paid land cruisers were also being used in bringing Iranian petrol.
DIG West Ameen Yousif Zai told the meeting that he had seized 22000 liter Iranian petrol being brought in the city in a dumper and has seized 84 Kg charas. He said that he has started strict snap checking in his zone. He added that a Tablighi Ijtema would be held in Maghopir area on January 31. The chief minister directed DIG West to provide them adequate and foolproof security.
The chief minister directed IG police to launch operation aginst such buses, trucks, dumers and land cruisers and remove their tanks and penalize them. As far as non-sutom paid vehiles are concerned, the chief minister was told that they had seized such vehicles a number of times and handed over to custom authorities but against they appear on the raodss.
The chief minister told the chief secretary to take up this issue with custom authorities and also urged them to launch drive against Iranian petrol smuggling.
DIG East said that due to strict checking, patrolling and coordination with people of civil society crime rate has come down in his zone. Compared to the figures of last year this year bike and cell phone snatching has come down by 200 bikes, 230 respectively and have seized 246 weapons during different raids in the zone.
Home Secretary Kazi Kabir told the chief minister that he has started holding meetings with the management of private educational institutions to sensitize them about drug paddling into the institutions. He added that he had also taken them into confidence for taking them necessary measures.
The DIGs of Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad and Mirpurkhas participated in the meeting through video link.
DIG Hyderabad Naeem Shaikh briefing the chief minister said that law and order in his division was comparatively better. However, he has launched operation against drug mafia. He pointed out that there were some traffic issues. At this the chief minister directed Chief Secretary and IG police to develop traffic signal system in Hyderabad city. The police have already posted SP Traffic and SP CTCD in Hyderabad.
DIG Sukkur Iqbal Dara: He told the meeting that three kidnappings cases had happened in Sukkur region, two of them have been recovered while police was working to recover Ramesh. At this the chief minister said that he was listening to the same statement from one and half month. He ordered Ramesh’s early recovery.
DID Larkana Javed Akbar said that law & order in the division was satisfactory, however there were some problems in katcha area and of tribal feuds. He said that in katcha area targeted operation has been launched and actions have been taken to stop tribal feuds. The chief minister asked if he was coordinating with border force of Balochistan. The DIG said that there were 30 check posts along Sindh-Balochistan border and last month he had held a meeting with his counterpart of Balochsitan. At this the chief minister directed IG police to develop a tri-partite group in which IGs of three bordering provinces, Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab meet once in two or three months to chalk out strategy for strict vigilance on the movement of outlaws on the borders and then form their subordinate groups of DIGs and SSPs level for implementation of their decisions.
DIG Shaheed Benazirabad Mazhar Nawaz told the meeting that law and order in his division was comparatively satisfactory. In his division there were important educational institutions, 10 railway stations, oild fields, railway tracks, therefore there was a security assignment. He requested the chief minister that CTD unit may be established in his district. At this the chief minister directed the IG police to work out a plan to establish CTD units and installation of GSM locators and such other facilities in every district headquarters.
SSP Mirpurkhas Abid Abaloch: The DIG Mirpurkhas was out of station, therefore SSP Mirpur Khas briefed the chief minister about law and order situation in the division. He said bike theft/snatching and gutka smuggling were major crimes in the area. He said that the DIG had launched special operation against criminals involved in bike theft/snatching. A similar drive was in full swing against the criminals involved illegal trade of gutka and bike theft. “We have busted five gangs of bike snatchers/thieves,” he said.
He pointed out another social issue of Tharparkar saying that suicide incidents were on the rise in the area. At this the chief minister said that he had recently sent a team of Sindh Mental Health Authority (SMHA) led by its Chairman Dr Karim Khwaja to Thar. He had taken leading experts/psychiatrists to Mithi and had held a seminar there. “Our team is preparing a paper and would submit their recommendations,” he said and also urged the SSP to involve local people of civil society and doctors and prepare a preliminary paper along with recommendation and send to him so that necessary measures could be taken for welfare of the people of the area.
The chief minister concluding the meeting directed IG police to deploy well-trained, well-dressed and alert traffic policemen on Shahrah-e-Faisal for traffic management.