The overall control of the city would remain under Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) for further three months to ensure safety and security of citizens, it is learnt. According to sources, the Sindh government has recently extended the period for 90 days, allowing Rangers personnel to use police powers under Section 5 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, to contain law and order situation in the city.
Sindh government had given police power to Rangers on February 2, 2010 to control incidents of targeted killings, which had claimed a number of precious lives of innocent people. The personnel of Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) would check and intercept any suspected person like police to maintain law and order situation in different parts of the city and ensure safety and security of precious lives of innocent people, they added.
The Section 5 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (use of armed forces and civil armed forces to prevent terrorism) states that any police officer or member of the armed forces, or civil armed forces, who is present or deployed in any area may, after giving sufficient warning, use the necessary force to prevent the commission of terrorist acts or scheduled offences, and, in so doing shall, in the case of an officer of the armed forces or civil armed forces, exercise all the powers of a police officer under the Code, the sources said.
The officer of police, armed forces and civil armed forces may after giving prior warning use such force as may be deemed necessary or appropriate, bearing in mind all the facts and circumstances of the situation, against any person who is committing, or in all probability is likely to commit a terrorist act or a scheduled offence, and it shall be lawful for any such officer, or any superior officer, to fire, or order the firing upon any person or persons against whom he is authorised to use force in terms thereof, arrest, without warrant, any person who has committed an act of terrorism or a scheduled offence or against whom a reasonable suspicion exists that he has committed, or is about to commit, any such act or offence; and enter and search without warrant, any premises to make any arrest or to take possession of any property, fire-arm, weapon or article used or likely to be used, in the commission of any terror" 1St act or scheduled offence, the sources said quoting text of the Act, 1997, it added.