KARACHI:The Sindh Caretaker Cabinet in its first formal meeting decided to launch a comprehensive joint operation with the Army and rangers to clear hideouts of dacoits, start a crackdown on organized weapon smuggling gangs, and strengthen intelligence gathering, and deny cyber and digital space to criminals in the Riverine area.
The cabinet also decided to curb street crime in the city by launching operations against street criminals and the drug mafia. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (rtd) Maqbool Baqar here at CM House on Thursday. The meeting was attended by caretaker ministers, Advocate General Hassan Akbar, Prosecutor General Advocate Fayaz Shah, Chief Secretary Dr Fakhre Alam, Chairman P and D Shakeel Mangnejo, PSCM Hassan Naqvi, concerned provincial secretary and Special Assistant to CM Advocate Moiz Baig and others.
Law and Order: Minister Home Brig (retd) Hariz Nawaz and Ig Police Riffat Mukhtar briefed the cabinet on overall law and order, including kidnapping for ransom in the katcha area, street crime, and drug mafia.
Kidnapping for ransom: Sharing the data of 20123, the CM was told that 218 people were kidnapped, of them, 207 have been recovered and 11 were still in the clutches of the baits.
To a question, the CM was told that when the incumbent IG police took over there were 57 kidnappings, out of them he got 46 recovered and efforts were underway to recover the remaining 11 persons.
The CM directed the IG Police to recover the outstanding 11 kidnappees and report him. He also urged him to direct the local police to keep in touch with the families of the kidnapped persons and keep them informed about the police efforts.
The cabinet was told that the dacoits in the Katcha area of four districts, Kashmore, Shikarpur, Ghotki, and Sukkur were holed up in inaccessible hideouts fortified by trenches and ditches.
The dacoits have long-range military-grade weapons effective against APCs. In the monsoon and kharif season flow of Indus flows in low and medium floods. The Katcha area has 238 villages with a population of 400,000. The Sindh police have set up eight police stations and 20 check posts.
The IG police told the cabinet that they have a plan to establish 390 police posts in the four districts along the protective bund. The police would be equipped with the latest weapons and gadgets.
The cabinet decided to launch a joint operation with police, Rangers, and Pak Army to clear dacoits’ hideouts. A crackdown would also be started against organized weapons smuggling gangs involved in supplying weapons to the dacoits. The areas where dacoits operate would be denied cyber and digital space to disconnect their communication.
Chief Secretary Dr. Fakhre Alam said that necessary coordination with the concerned agencies would be made to start the operation against the dacoits.
Street Crime: The cabinet was told that 12886 cases of street crime have been registered during 2023. The registered cases include 3178 mobile snatchings, 93 four-wheeler snatching, 758 four-wheeler theft, 2143 two-wheeler snatching, and 3457 two-wheeler theft.
The chief minister directed the IG Police to enhance police patrolling and start operations against street criminals. The police stations where more street crimes were taking place may be replaced with energetic and effective policemen.
Narcotics Control: The cabinet was told that the narcotics were smuggled to Sindh from other areas of the country. The slum areas of Lyari and Sohrab Goth were the main hubs of narcotics in the city. Narcotics have penetrated educational institutions.
The CM was told that four narcotics rehabilitation welfare centers were functioning with police support in Karachi where 360 addicts were being rehabilitated. The IG police said that 2925 drug addicts have been rehabilitated.
Ranger’s deployment: The cabinet approved ratification of the extension of deployment of Pakistan Rangers in Karachi Division made w.e.f. September 14, 2023, to December 12, 2023, under Anti-Terrorism Act-1997. Meanwhile, the cabinet approved the deployment of the Rangers for six months for which a letter would be sent to the federal government.
KWSCB: The cabinet approved the appointment of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation Board with eight ex-official members and six non-official members.
The ex-officio members include the Mayor KMC – Chairman, the BS-19 garde representatives of secretaries of local government, finance, P and D, Commissioner Karachi and DG Sindh Katchi Abadis Authority, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation.
The non-official members are VC NED Dr. Sarosh Lodhi, Chairman Appellate Board of ICA Mr. Zafar Iqbal, IT expert Ms. Mahwish, Barrister Syed Shabir Shah, Prof. Dr. Huma Naz Baqai, Mr. Tanzeel Pirzada, and MD SEF Kazi Kabir.
