Sindh can handle law and order situation without Centre’s help: Sharjeel

Sindh’s senior minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said on Tuesday the law and order situation in Karachi had significantly improved compared to before.

In a statement, he said the new provincial home minister and the inspector general of police were working diligently.

The police and Rangers have equal powers in Karachi; furthermore, the Rangers are conducting operations to restore law and order, he noted.

Memon, who has been assigned the portfolio of Sindh’s information minister as well, emphasized that no one desires a law and order problem during his tenure. Unfortunately, the incidence of street crime has increased across the country, he said, adding that they are making every effort to swiftly control street crime.

The senior minister mentioned that policing efforts have been intensified. “I believe the Sindh government can handle the situation without requiring assistance from the federation.”

Memon highlighted that Karachi, being a densely populated and large city, faces significant challenges with illegal immigrants, who have been found to be involved in most incidents.

Efforts are underway to promptly repatriate illegal immigrants to their respective countries, he said.

He further said that policing has been augmented, with 5.5 billion rupees released for the Safe City project, and smart cameras will be installed as part of this initiative.

The information minister stressed that both the police and Rangers are making considerable efforts, with equal powers vested in both. The loss of even a single human life is a matter of grave concern for the government, he remarked.

A day earlier, reacting to the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leader Mustafa Kamal had said that the city should be handed over to the army for three months, and his party would offer all possible support to deal with street criminals.

Kamal said that the Sindh government and police had left Karachi at the mercy of robbers, and in such a dire situation, no one was paying heed to the plight of the city.

He said, “Today, in the Metroville area, two citizens were killed and robbed of more than one hundred million rupees, which is a great injustice. There is no area or street in Karachi where the lives and properties of citizens are safe.”

He added that in just the first four months of this year, the number of citizens killed in street crimes was about to reach 60.

“The biased Sindh government and incompetent Sindh police have given free rein to thieves, robbers, and murderers,” he said, adding that Home Minister Zia Lanjar should explain who had tied the hands of the police.

He questioned why police were not taking action against criminals, saying that the provincial government was not serious about providing protection to the citizens.

Earlier on Sunday, MQM-P leader Faisal Sabzwari had said that the robbers had been given a “license to kill” citizens, accusing police of colluding with the criminals.

Party leader Khawaja Izhar ul Hassan had said that “the Sindh government pressured the federal government to appoint their chosen inspector general, and the news of the new IG’s appointment has brought joy to robbers from Karachi to Kashmore.”