ISLAMABAD:
More than half of the nearly 6,000 suspected criminals arrested during the ongoing surgical operation in Karachi are affiliated with political parties, counter-terrorism officials told media sources.
“Civilian and intelligence agencies have rounded up 5,882 suspected criminals since the launch of the Karachi operation in September 2013. Of them, 55% are associated with political parties,” a senior interior ministry official said.
He complained that lack of cooperation from major political players has long been undermining effective operations against criminals in the city. “We’ve sought cooperation from four political parties to purge Karachi of criminals,” he added.
The political parties have, however, always denied existence of their militant wings and disowned criminals arrested by law enforcers.
The official said criminal elements in Karachi had been divided into three categories: anti-state elements; workers of banned outfits; and their facilitators.
The Rangers in cooperation with IB and ISI have collected the data of all criminals, enlisting 913 militants involved in anti-state activities, he added. “Their cases will be sent to the military courts for sure. It’s time to catch the big fish in Karachi,” he said. “The military and political government are backing the IB, ISI and Rangers.”