Governor gives police 48 hours to arrest killers of bookshop owner, son

Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori has asked the police authorities to arrest within 48 hours the culprits involved in the recent killings of a man and his son while they were resisting a robbery bid in the Korangi area.

The governor on Saturday went to the residence of the victims, Muhammad Hussain and Asad, to offer his condolence to the bereaved family.

Talking to media persons on the occasion, he said the killings of the father and his son in the robbery attempt was a highly tragic and condemnable incident. The additional inspector general of the Karachi police and the DIG of East Zone were present with him whom he directed to catch the culprits in 48 hours so they could be handed down a stern punishment as per the law.

Tessori said the interim administration, bureaucratic machinery, and police leadership had recently been appointed in the province without any political consideration for improving law and order and resolving the issue of street crime in the province.

He said he didn’t have sufficient words to condole with the bereaved family members as the savage killers had caused an irreparable loss to them, including the tragedy of orphaning children, in the family.

He said such violent incidents could be part of a greater conspiracy to worsen the law and order situation of the city to demotivate prospective foreign investors showing interest in launching business ventures in Pakistan. He said the investigating agencies should probe the killing of people in broad daylight in Karachi with the angle that a foreign hand could be involved in such violent incidents. The governor conceded that the police force also lacked the capacity and strength to effectively combat such crime sprees.

To a question, he said all leading politicians in the country, including Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari, had been emphasising that the national economy should be revived, and for the purpose it was high time the state should got rid of all the criminal mafias present in the country.

He said those at the helm of affairs should resolve pressing issues of the people; otherwise, they should step down. “No one is in power right now to enjoy his authority nor will we let anyone do so.”

Answering another question, he conceded that Karachi lacked basic facilities given its massive population. “It is high time we stood united against all mafias.”

The governor welcomed Saturday’s statement of former president Asif Ali Zardari calling for giving preference to the economy to politics.

Additional IG Karachi Khadim Hussain Rind told media persons that the tragic Korangi incident was being investigated from every angle and no stone would be left unturned in catching the culprits.

Separately, Tessori met Caretaker Home Minister Brig (retired) Haris Nawaz at the Governor House. The meeting took into consideration the affairs related to street crime and the installation of CCTV cameras for launching a comprehensive security surveillance system in the city.

He asked the caretaker home minister to adopt all the necessary measures for protecting the lives and properties of the masses in Sindh. He said that a comprehensive strategy should be adopted for combating the menacing situation of street crime.

In this regard, police patrolling should be beefed up while the number of CCTV cameras in the city should be increased, the governor suggested and said that police patrolling should be enhanced particularly in those areas where there was a higher occurrence of crime.