close
Friday March 29, 2024

Karachi owes its peace to Rangers, police: Nawaz

Says operation will continue at all costs; Sindh CM, intelligence agencies

By our correspondents
August 21, 2015
KARACHI: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said extortionists, kidnappers, target killers and other criminals had almost been eliminated from the port city of Karachi due to the ongoing operation by the Rangers and police in close coordination with the premier civil and military intelligence agencies of the country.
He said this while chairing a high-level meeting on the law and order situation here at the Governor’s House during his day-long visit to the city. He lauded the Rangers and police on this achievement.
Nawaz maintained that theoperation was not directed at any political party adding that the port city had almost been cleared of extortionists, kidnappers and target killers.
Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Director General Sindh Rangers Major General Bilal Akbar, Inspector General of Police Sindh Ghulam Hyder Jamali, Chief Secretary Muhammad Siddique Memon and other officials attended the meeting.
He invited the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) parliamentarians to return to parliament and sit with the government.Nawaz said terrorists had started retreating, as their strike capacity had been subdued to a great extent owing to the operation.
He said it was due to the successful operation that terrorists had been restricted to doing one or two activities here and there from time to time to keep themselves alive. “We will not get worried and have full belief that the situation will soon improve,” said Nawaz.He said the improvement in the Karachi situation would surely result in the country’s development.
He said the operation would continue against criminals and terrorists in a most non-discriminatory and neutral manner and nobody should worry about the progress of the operation.He said the operation had improved the situation in Karachi due to which prospective foreign investors had started visiting the city.
He said people and the business community had expressed their satisfaction over the operation.Nawaz said he was saddened by the attack on the life of MQM leader Abdul Rashid Godil.He said the government had reached close to the assassins of Punjab Home Minister Colonel (retd) Shuja Khanzada and soon they would be brought to justice.
He appreciated the quarters which participated in the operation and backed it. He especially appreciated the police, the Rangers and intelligence agencies for improving the law and order and security situation in Karachi.
He said the Baldia Town factory fire tragedy was a sad incident, which caused the death of a number of innocent people. He said the criminals involved in the incident would soon be exposed and punished in accordance with the law.
The prime minister also appreciated the Sindh government and its chief minister for the restoration of peace in Karachi.
DIRECTION FOR CCTV SYSTEM: Chairing a meeting on law and order, the prime minister directed the authorities concerned to upgrade the closed-circuit television cameras for surveillance.
The directive came when the prime minister was told that the video footage retrieved from surveillance cameras present at the site of the attack on MQM’s MNA Abdul Rashid Godil was unclear and grainy owing to which the culprits could not be identified.
IGP Sindh Ghulam Hyder Jamali said the footage of surveillance cameras would be sent to London so that its resolution and quality could be improved to identify the suspects.
Nawaz expressed his serious displeasure at the CCTV cameras’ poor performance and directed the authorities concerned to use modern CCTV cameras.
The police also presented an initial report to the prime minister on the attack on Abdul Rashid Godil.The PM directed the authorities concerned to take strict action against the militant wings present in political parties and terrorist outfits and their facilitators.
He also called upon the provincial authorities to reform and improve the investigation and prosecution services.He said services and efforts of all the intelligence and investigation agencies should be combined together for investigating and interrogating high-profile terrorists.
Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah told Nawaz that the government’s prosecution service was being improved through reforms while prosecutors giving unsatisfactory performance were being replaced with new prosecuting officials.
He urged the prime minister to provide assistance to the provincial government for the provision of the latest resources and weapons to the security agencies operating in the city. Director General Sindh Rangers in his briefing said owing to the combined efforts of the Rangers and other security agencies, peace had been restored in Karachi.
He said owing to the restoration of peace in Karachi the traders had informed them that the volume of Eid shopping had increased to Rs70 billion while volume of shopping on the occasion of Independence Day this year had also soared to Rs05 billion. He said industrialists were being given protection and security cover.