Home minister inaugurates highway police patrol service

HYDERABAD: Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar launched the Sindh Highways Police Patrol service in Hyderabad on Monday.

Sindh Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon, Sindh Highways Patrol Police DIG Fida Hussain Mastoi, Tariq Dharejo and other range officers were present on the occasion.

The Sindh police presented a guard of honour to the home minister. Addressing the ceremony, Lanjar said the performance of the National Highways Police had not been impressive as crime was not under control.

He remarked that the highway police were now only seen for tax collection and they were not doing enough for crime prevention. He added that despite his request to the highways police IG, they had not shown any impressive performance in Sindh.

The home minister said the Highway Patrol Police should be made a friendly police that helped people rather than creating problems for them. The impression of this patrolling police should be that of a social police, he added.

He said that crime in upper Sindh was being highlighted these days but the Sindh police were sacrificing their lives to bring the situation under control and they would bring back the lost peace in those areas.

He said CCTV cameras would be installed at all the 402 toll plazas in the province so that vehicles suspected of being involved in crime could be monitored. Earlier, DIG Mastoi informed the home minister that 103 vehicles had been provided for patrolling the highways of the province, including 54 cars, 36 pickups and 13 APCs. The officer said 2,279 personnel would work for the Sindh Highways Police and patrol 2,236 kilometres of 12 highways in the province.