Citizens to decide whether Rangers stay in Karachi, says governor

The Sindh Rangers will remain deployed in Karachi until the city’s inhabitants want the paramilitary force to stay around, Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair said on Monday night at a dinner organised by the Bin Qasim Association of Trade and Industry.

“The people of Karachi, including traders and industrialists, are well aware of the role played by [the] Sindh Rangers for improving the city’s security situation,” Zubair said, adding that the city dwellers wanted peace and development rather than violence and chaos.

He said the increase in social, literary, cultural and political activities in Karachi was a testament to the dedication and professionalism exhibited by the paramilitary force to curb violence in the metropolis. “People want the paramilitary force to stay until all threats to their life and property are eliminated.”

Zubair said the efficient coordination among the Rangers, police and other law enforcement agencies had resulted in restoration of peace in Karachi and there was a marked difference between the present-day situation and the one seen in 2013. “Till a few years back, not a single investor was willing to spend on projects in Karachi.”

While the city’s law and order situation had visibly improved, the governor said urgent measures were still needed to improve sanitation, water supply and other civic facilities.

He stated that it was high time that Karachiites were granted their basic right to quality transportation, education, health, and infrastructural development. 

‘No one above the law’

In a meeting with a Karachi Bar Association delegation on Tuesday, the governor said no group or individual was above the law and the federal government was committed to ensure compliance of all legal and constitutional provisions.

Zubair said the constitution held supremacy over all other pillars of state. The delegation apprised the governor of the issues being faced by 13,000 KBA members, including pending demands for a lawyers' hostel, establishment of a Nadra office on the court premises and upgradation of the KBA library.