533 suspects arrested in interior Sindh since Sept 2013: Rangers

Karachi

With a deadlock persisting over the issue of extending the Sindh Rangers stay and powers in the province, the paramilitary force on Thursday issued a report regarding the performance of the Rangers in interior Sindh.

As per the data released, since a security operation was started on September 5, 2013, the paramilitary force has – exercising the powers awarded under Article 147 – has arrested 533 suspects in multiple targeted and intelligence based operations in interior Sindh.

Of the 533 suspects held, 478 were handed over to local police for further legal proceedings, while 55 were handed over to different law enforcing departments including the Federal Investigation Agency, Pakistan Customs, Frontier Constabulary, and Anti-Narcotics Force.

The arrested suspects include 127 illegal Afghan nationals, 34 militants of banned outfit, 16 separatists, four activists of a political party, 18 dacoits, 10 smugglers, 11 hunters, 24 drug peddlers. The remaining 234 were said to have been involved in various other crimes.

The Rangers report also states that two officers and a soldier were martyred in these operations, two others suffered injuries. The performance report has been released by the paramilitary force a day after the ongoing operation in the port city came to a grinding halt as the Sindh government has not yet recommended that the federal government extend the Rangers’ stay in the province and its special policing powers in Karachi.

All the wings of the paramilitary force have been stopped from carrying out raids because of the lack of extension in its powers.  Both terms of the Sindh Rangers’ stay in the province – in aid of the civil administration and the police to control law and order – and the special policing powers of the Rangers in Karachi came to an end on July 19, 2016. 

The latest term of stay of the Rangers in the province under Article-147 of the Constitution was for one year, while the last time the Sindh government granted an extension in the special policing powers of the Sindh Rangers in Karachi for another 77 days in early May, 2016.