Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Amjad Javed Saleemi to launch a result-oriented crackdown on street criminals to eradicate street crimes. Shah made this directive in his first meeting in the second term as Sindh CM. He presided over the huddle at CM House on Sunday. The chief minister directed IGP Sindh to ensure proper maintenance of law and order during the Eidul Azha.
"After Eid a comprehensive plan will be worked out to make this city free of street crimes and a similar policy will be introduced in other districts of the province where law and order situation is fragile," he said. Murad Shah cited that in his speech on the floor of the house he had made clear that maintenance of law and order would remain his top priority.
"This is why I am holding this meeting even on Sunday," he said, adding that street crimes were undoing all efforts of the government taken to restore law and order in the city; therefore, a decisive action is required to eliminate this [social] evil. The IGP Sindh said that a targeted operation was in progress and it would definitely produce good results. The chief minister said targeted operation must be stiffened and focused. He directed him to make the SHOs responsible for controlling street crimes and on their failure, take strict action against them.
Additional IGP Karachi Dr Ameer Shaikh said drug mafia and other mafias were behind the street crimes. He said those running the racket of beggars in the city also involved in street crimes. The chief minister directed the IG police to launch operation against drug mafia, including the peddlers and addicts. He said that just after Eid, necessary measures would be taken to send the addicts to the rehabilitation centres or to the welfare organizations. He said he did not want to see the beggars standing on all the roundabouts. "There should be an operation against them," he emphasised. IG Police briefed the chief minister on law and order. He said there were six police ranges in the province with 123,983 policemen. He said in aggregate there were 30 police districts, and 623 police stations all over Sindh. Chief Minister said if population of the province is divided with the total strength of the police there would be ratio of 1 policeman for 410 people. "This is not bad ratio but we have to make the police more responsive, hardworking and dedicated to control crimes," he said, adding that this would be made possible with capacity-building of the police.
The IG police told the chief minister that 10,269 policemen were receiving different trainings, including 8300 policemen on in-service courses, 1237 receiving training at army training centres, another 432 receiving special training by Pakistan Army and 300 are doing specialized commando courses. The capacity-building process launched by Shah during his last tenure as CM was still in progress.
The IG said 621 miscreants have been bound down under heavy securities while there was strict vigilance on 761 persons included in the 4th Schedule. Campaign to arrest all proclaimed offenders was in progress and the police stations' record was also being updated.
IG Police Amjad Javed Saleemi said that terrorism, kidnapping for ransom, extortion, security of CPEC projects and capacity of investigators are those challenges which police are meeting with the support of the government and through proper strategy and resources.
"Since 2018 to this date, 622 encounters were conducted in which 1122 were arrested red-handed," he said, adding that 8128 criminals have been arrested 396 gangs were busted. In the encounters, 73 criminals were neutralized and two LMG, eight G-3, 145 SMGS and 5204 pistols were recovered.