Sindh Inspector-General of Police Zia-ul- Hassan has said that all activities of religious teaching institutions (Madariss) in the province are under check and if the police detected any illegal or unlawful act, action would be initiated according to the policies of the government.
He said this while responding to a question during the press conference here at Shahbaz Hall on Wednesday afternoon. Accompanied by Regional Police Officer, Hyderabad Range, Sultan Salahuddin Babar Khatak, Regional Police Officer, Sukkur Range, Muhammad Bachal Sangri, and other police officers, the IGP said that no complaint of illegal or unlawful activities had till then had been received about any religious teaching institution in the province.
He said that maintenance of law and order and curbing crimes and criminals were the prime responsibility of police, and the provincial police is making all-out efforts to provide protection to life and property of law abiding people of the province.
He said that recovery of illegal lethal weapons was also the duty of police, and whosoever was found displaying illegal arms, the police would take prompt action against the holder.
The Provincial Police Officer emphasised the need of promoting community policing to maintain law and order and curb the criminals and crimes through community participation.
The lawful, peaceful atmosphere provides guarantee of economic prosperity as the investors feel free in investing for improvement and development of different sectors particularly industrial development, the IGP said, and added tat the police was fully committed to provide such atmosphere for rapid progress of the province.
He said that under existing resources, efforts were also underway to provide people-friendly atmosphere at the police stations so that the complainants do not feel any hesitation in lodging their report. Reporting rooms would be set up in all police stations, where the duty officers would register the cases instead of Muharrirs, he said.
Besides, vehicles with latest weapons have been provided to Karachi Police as well as personnel deployed at the borders of other provinces to take early action against the criminals. The latest facilities would also be provided to Madadgar-15 in Hyderabad, he added.
In order to control the cases of car lifting and motorbikes snatching, he said he had issued directives to Regional Police Officer, Hyderabad Region, to ensure utilisation of Anti-Car Lifting staff to eradicate such crimes.
About performance of the provincial police, he said that law and order situation was better as compared to previous years. However, he agreed that there was an increase in different types of crimes in the province particularly in some urban areas.
In this matter, he said, directives have been issued to initiate stern action against criminals so that the law-abiding people could take a sigh of relief. About rise in criminal activities, the IGP agreed that it was because of delay in investigation for solving the cases at the earliest. There was need for effective supervision in the investigation wings so that the cases should be resolved without any delay, he added.
There is need of reorganisation and restructuring to make close coordination between operation and investigation wings of police department for prompt action against crimes and criminals, and solution of criminal cases at the earliest, he said.
In this regard, the IGP said that various proposals have been discussed and finalised and now these would be moved to the concerned quarters for approval so that the performance of police department could be made more effective.
About tribal clashes and increasing influence of feudal class in the districts of upper Sindh, the IGP said that no one is above the law and the police is taking action against those involved in criminal activities there.
He, however, added that he fully desired to involve the community in maintaining law and order in the areas. He said no one would be allowed to take law into his own hands.
About posting of police officers on political grounds, the IGP dispelled such impressions and said that the appointments were being made on merit. The system of performance evaluation has been introduced in the department and the posting of police officers would be made on the basis of performance, he added.
The IGP said that to provide relief to police personnel, Rs 1000 each has been increased in the monthly salary of 80,000 police constables and head constables of the province. About vacancies in police department, the IGP said that 3300 jobs would be provided in the department according to requirements of the district.