Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah presided over an urgent meeting on law and order at the CM House on Friday. He expressed his displeasure at the incident in Ghotki earlier in the day which claimed the lives of two Rangers officials and a civilian.
“This is intolerable and must be handled with an iron fist,” he said and added that more coordinated efforts were required to tighten the noose around the saboteurs.
The meeting was attended by Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mushtaq Maher, Additional Chief Secretary Home Department Usman Chachar, Additional IG Karachi Ghulam Nabi Memon, additional IG CTD, additional IG Special Branch, and representatives of the Rangers and intelligence agencies.
The IGP briefed the CM about the Ghotki blast in which three people. The CM said that a similar blast in Larkana on the day in which no loss of life had occurred might have been made by the same group.
Shah directed the LEAs to strengthen their coordinated efforts to curb such terrorist elements who were trying to take benefit of the fact that the government was busy in combating the coronavirus pandemic.
The CM directed the IGP to conduct a thorough inquiry into the Ghotki and Larkana incidents. He also directed the law enforcers to launch an intelligence-based operation against criminals in each and every district.
“I’ll not allow any criminal to take benefit of the situation,” he said and directed the law enforcement agencies to demonstrate zero-tolerance against terrorists and their facilitators.
Political parties
Leaders of political and religious parties have condemned the coordinated attacks on personnel of the Sindh Rangers in the province’s various parts, including Karachi.
They expressed condolence with the families of the martyred personnel and prayed for the early recovery of the injured. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers in Sindh condemned the attacks on the Rangers in Karachi, Ghotki and Larkana.
In their separate statements, they also condemned the attack outside the Ehsas Kifalat Programme in Karachi in which one of the beneficiaries of the cash grant was killed and others were injured.
Firdous Shamin Naqvi, the opposition leader in the Sindh Assembly, said that under a conspiracy, terrorist attacks were being carried out in Sindh. “Such cowardly attacks can't frighten the nation or the armed forces," he said.
Khurram Sherzaman, the PTI Karachi president and MPA, said the enemies of Pakistan which did not wish to see peace in the country were likely behind the attacks.
Arsalan Taj, a PTI lawmaker, demanded that the special policing powers be given back to the Rangers. He said the Sindh police had failed to maintain law and order because they were working as a “force of Sindh government”.
Pak Sarzameen Party Chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal blamed the agents of Indian spy agency RAW-funded MQM-London, and the Sindh separatist movement led by Shafi Burfat for the latest wave of hand grenade attacks targeting law enforcement agencies in Karachi, Ghotki and Larkana on a single day.
Expressing grief over the deaths, Kamal said India with the assistance of the MQM-London and the Shafi Barfat group’s Sindh separatist movement was “taking out its frustration on shameless defeat by Chinese forces in Ladakh, and on the court's verdict regarding the martyrdom of Imran Farooq, which took place on the instructions of Altaf Hussain by bombing different cities of Sindh”.
In a statement, he said the PSP valued the sacrifices of the security agencies and the entire nation was united against terrorism. “The PSP has uprooted the demon of RAW from Karachi by rendering great sacrifices, but it is a matter of grave concern that terrorist incidents have taken place in different cities of Sindh in a single day,” he said.
Kamal said anti-Pakistan elements were once again trying to destabilise the peace of Sindh by hatching a fresh conspiracy. “Sindhi and Urdu speaking communities in the province must understand the plot of RAW agents and should unite against it,” he said.
Kamal demanded a high-level investigation into the incidents in Karachi, Ghotki and Larkana, and stern action against those involved in these heinous incidents and the mastermind. Grand Democratic Alliance General Secretary Ayaz Latif Palijo also condemned the terrorist attacks on the Rangers personnel in Ghotki, Karachi and Larkana.
In a statement issued on Friday, Palijo, who is also the head of the Qaumi Awami Tehreek, said the coordinated attacks smacked of a conspiracy to sabotage peace in Sindh.
"Peace in Pakistan is not being tolerated by the neighbouring country," he said, referring to India. “Foreign hands are trying to destroy the peace and harmony of the people and the country. Those involved are not only tarnishing our peaceful image but also trying to destabilise the entire region,” said Palijo.
He hoped that the law enforcement agencies would soon arrest the attackers and exposed them before the people. Palijo also expressed condolence with the families of the martyred soldiers and citizens and prayed for the swift recovery of the injured.
Nasir expresses grief
Strongly condemning the blast near a Rangers vehicle in Ghotki, Sindh Information and Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah on Friday said those involved in the attack would be soon arrested and punished.
In a statement, the minister also expressed deep sorrow and grief over the martyrdom of two Sindh Rangers personnel, Zahoor Ahmed and Fayyaz Ahmed, in the blast. He offered condolences to the families of the deceased.
Nasir said the attacks on security forces were intolerable, adding that Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had taken immediate notice of the incident and ordered an investigation. The minister said Sindh was peaceful today only because of the sacrifices of the security personnel.
He said they would not let the law and order situation deteriorate again. Nasir said immediate instructions had been issued for the treatment of those injured in the blast, adding that all the injured would be taken completely.
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The minister said the nation valued the sacrifices of security personnel and that the hostile elements would be dealt with strictly.
He said the Pakistan Army, the Sindh Rangers and the Sindh Police with the help of all other security agencies were conducting operations against the anti-national elements and as a result of these operations many attacks had been foiled.
"All of us together will thwart the nefarious intentions of the hostile elements," he said, adding that the sacrifices of the security personnel would not be allowed to go in vain.
Meanwhile, Nasir also strongly condemned the bomb blast near the office of the Ehsas Programme located in a school near the Nazimabad Underpass. The minister said the chief minister had issued orders for the immediate arrest of those involved in the attack.
He said those involved in the attack would be arrested soon and brought to justice. Nasir also expressed sorrow over the death of one person in the blast. The minister said that instructions had also been issued for the treatment of the injured in the blast.
