Qaim fails to resolve Rangers-Siyal row

CM to talk to PPP’s high command over persisting differences between paramilitary force and home minister over Kharal, Tariq Siyal’s custody issue

Karachi

A meeting, otherwise stated to have been convened at the Chief Minister House on Saturday to review the law and order situation in the province, reportedly failed to achieve its primary objective, i.e. to ease tension between the paramilitary Rangers and people associated with the home minister in Larkana.

Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah chaired the meeting, which was attended by Director-General Sindh Rangers Major General Bilal Akbar, Inspector General of Police AD Khowaja, Home Minister Sohail Anwar Khan Siyal, Finance Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Food Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Religious Affairs Dr Qayoom Soomro.

Sources privy to the huddle said the meeting had been primarily convened to overcome the differences between the Rangers and people associated with the home minister in Larkana over Asad Kharal, whom the Rangers wanted to take into custody as part of it drive to expand the scope of Karachi’s targeted operation against criminals to the rest of the province.

On July 13, paramilitary soldier had taken Kharal into custody in Larkana for his alleged connections with criminals who were absconders and carrying head money. 

During the course of interrogation, some private security guards of influential persons reportedly aided by police managed to get Kharal free from the custody of Rangers. Since then, the mome minister’s brother, Tariq Siyal, has been named as among those leading the influential people who had interfered with the course of interrogation and freed Kharal from the custody of the paramilitary force.

During Saturday’s meeting, the Rangers stuck to its point of view on the issue and demanded the custody of Kharal and the home minister’s brother, said the sources.

The home minister reportedly didn’t come to terms with the Rangers’ demand and refused to surrender the two men. He said he did not take any step against the law while dealing with the volatile situation in Larkana.

He reportedly said in the meeting that his brother was a known political figure in his hometown and in no way could he be handed over to law-enforcement agencies on the basis of false accusations about his links with criminal elements.  

According to the sources, the Rangers’ authorities said an attempt had been made to drive a wedge between law-enforcement agencies and the provincial government as influential persons in Larkana had brazenly challenged the writ of law and by securing Kharal’s custody from soldiers. They informed the CM about the role of the home minister in the issue.

The CM failed to resolve the differences between the two sides and decided to inform tge top leadership of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party about the issue. It was also decided that more such meetings could be convened in the days to come to bridge the differences between the home minister and the Rangers authorities.

The CM House issued an official statement about the meeting, but that did not contain anything detail regarding the Larkana issue. It said the chief minister contradicted media reports about any reshuffle in the government.

A statement, issued by the Rangers, said the meeting took into consideration law and order situation in the province, especially in context of the ongoing targeted operation in Karachi.

The meeting said all the institutions concerned were united and had consensus of opinion regarding the restoration of peace. It again resolved that the targeted operation would continue till the elimination of the last of the terrorists. 

Big challenges 

Chief Minister Shah said the safe recovery of barrister Owais Ali Shah and the arrest of Amjad Sabri's killers are big challenges for the government, and the Rangers and the police had to solve both cases in coordination with other agencies.

Major General Bilal Akbar briefed the chief minister on the targeted operation and the progress made in both cases. 

IGP AD Khowaja told the chief minister that some arrests had been made in the Amjad Sabri murder case, and important clues to reach the killers had been achieved.

He added that all the law enforcing agencies were working in close coordination for the safe recovery of Owais Ali Shah, son of Sindh High Court Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah.

The chief minister directed his special assistant on religious affairs, Dr Qayoom Soomro, to form peace committees in all districts and activate the ones already constituted.