National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Human Rights recommended deweaponsization and doubling of police personnel in Karachi.
The NA standing committee on Human Rights urged the provincial government to double the 34,000 cops deployed in the city to 70,000. The committee recommended that new recruits should only be commissioned in the police force if they hail from Karachi. The committee barred non karachites from induction in the force on the pretext that outsiders are not attuned, oriented and sensitized to the city. The committee also took notice of the fact that one third of police personnel in the city were deployed on VIP duty. The committee noted that the police authorities were not following the Red Book.
The committee recommended commissioning of Anti Riot Police force in the province and congratulated Sindh Governor Ishrat Ul Ebad for reaching consensus with all political and religious outfits regarding holding of Public rallies at specific sites in the city.
The committee also requested the governor to order implementation of “Witness Protection Plan,” drafted by Sindh Home Department to fill in prosecution loopholes which result in pronunciation of criminals as innocent by the courts. Member National Assembly (MNA) Atiya Inayatullah, recommended to procure electronic gadgets and installation of 900 close circuit cameras in different parts of the city. MNA’s Sameen Rizvi, Kishwar Zehra, Khushbakht Shujaat, Dr Anesh Kumar, Riaz Fatyana were also present during the meeting.
The committee is drafting a proposal under which millions of unauthorized SIMs would be blocked as authorities believe that target killers and kidnappers slip out of the reach of police by using SIMs that are not registered in their names. A one window operation has been proposed under which applicants would apply for a SIM and the SIM would be couriered to their residences. The master plan proposed for the city had been termed “Mega City Plan”.
