Over 5,487 Sindh policemen reprimanded, assembly told

The Sindh government handed major punishments to over 5,487 police officials and initiated criminal proceedings against 506 others in line with its efforts to strengthen internal accountability mechanism in the police department during last four years.
Also, during 2008-2011 the Sindh police claimed to have killed 35 “terrorists” and arrested 330 others along with huge recovery of arms and ammunition. Some 328 dacoits, carrying bounties worth Rs 109 million, have been eliminated or apprehended in interior Sindh.
Claiming to have succeeded in maintaining law and order in the province to “a large extent”, the provincial government is also installing electronically-interfaced CCTV 900 cameras at 164 locations in this violence-hit city plagued by the politically-motivated targeted killings and recently-concluded operations against gangsters in Lyari.
“Law and order can only be handled on sustainable basis through strengthening of the policing system which in this age and time requires a very professional management together with technology,” Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah told the Sindh Assembly Tuesday while unveiling his government’s past four-year performance report.
Amid intermittent political outbursts against the PML-ruled Punjab, the chief minister claimed that despite complexities law and order had been maintained in Karachi through political management and active support of coalition partners. “No target killing is there today,” he claimed.
In Karachi, Shah said, the targeted killings had touched alarming figures during July-August 2011, besides the burning issue of “bhatta” collection as was evident from the registration of 265 cases during 2010-11 alone.
However, the chief minister claimed, during the review year three target killers had been killed and 303 others arrested while 203 extortionists had also been held by the law enforcers.
About the street crime, he said, the menace was considerably lower than what it was in 2007.
The tables in “A Catalogue of Dedicated Service”, handed to the reporters, show that incidents of mobile phone snatching and theft had reduced to 10,720 and 12,993 in 2011 as against 21,592 and 33,230 in 2007.
Similarly, 153 cases of kidnapping for ransom were reported in 2011 against 224 of 2008. In total 816 persons were kidnapped during last four years and 813 of them were recovered.
Referring to Lyari, the chief minister said, targeted raids and not operation, on the basis of definite information, would be continued in the oldest neighbourhood against criminals regardless of their ethno-linguistic and political background. “Criminals will never have a freehand,” he said.
Besides, though much of the information was oft-repeated and reported, the chief minister talked at length on the past four-year achievements of his government with regard to the socio-economic wellbeing of the people of Sindh.
“A serious effort has gone into poverty reduction, economic growth and revitalizing health and education,” the chide minister concluded adding that job were provided thourgh public sector positions, while trainings were imparted and stipends were given to thousands of youth under the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Youth Development Program.
The living standard was improved of thousands of households through microfinance and community development outreach. The chief minister during his two-hour long speech hoped that the government’s efforts at improving agriculture and industrial productivity and infrastructure development would yield results.
Earlier, the lawmakers also concluded general discussion on the law and order situation in Sindh province with parliamentary leaders of the PPP, the MQM and the NPP extending various proposals to improve the poor law and order situation in the province, particularly in the violence-hit Karachi.
The MQM parliamentary leader Sardar Ahmed linked the betterment of law and order with complete overhauling of the policing system. “We need institutional reforms for bettering the law and order,” he suggested.
Urging the need for a “unified command” the MQM legislator said there should be a “unified force” of the Law Enforcement Agencies to wage a coordinated effort against the law abusers.
He said at least three Station House Officers should be deployed at a police station as the present one-SHO system was impractical in terms of human capacity of a police officer who cannot work round-the-clock.
PPP Parliamentary leader Pir Mazharul Haq said Hindus were never discriminated against in the province which had historically embraced people of all ethno-religious groups. He said Hindus should not be called as a minority in Sindh. This he said in response to the complaint of MQM’s Argun Das Ahoja who earlier had said minorities in interior Sindh were badly suppressed and dejected.
Others who spoke included Masroor Jatoi of National People’s Party, Agha Taimur Pathan, Haleem Ahmed, Argun Das Ahoja and Heer Soho.
The lawmakers expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order especially in Karachi. Jatoi said the existence of extortionists and criminals across the province warranted an across the board and not targeted operation. He said the law and order in Karachi was worst hit than other districts of Sindh.
The Question Hour pertained to the environment, sports and Katchi Abadies departments.
The speaker prorogued the session for an indeficnt period.