COAS throws weight behind Rangers, says Karachi op will go on

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif, in a high-level briefing at the Rangers Headquarters in Karachi on Sunday, directed all the commanders to leave ‘no stone unturned’ in finding the perpetrators behind the murder of Amjad Sabri and the kidnapping of Awais Shah.

The chief of army staff said that the Karachi operation will continue until all the objectives of the operation have been achieved and there is peace in Karachi.

The army chief’s visit to Karachi comes days after the high-profile kidnapping of the Sindh High Court chief justice’s son Awais Shah and the assassination of famed Qawwal, Amjad Sabri, who was gunned down in Liaquatabad by unidentified motorcyclists in an attack claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Shah’s kidnapping and Sabri’s murder occurred within days of each other, causing fear and panic to spread among the residents of Karachi, where citizens had perceived an improvement in the law and order situation since the initiation of the Rangers-led operation in 2013.

Gen Raheel was briefed in detail by Director General (DG) Rangers Major General Bilal Akbar on the paramilitary force’s ongoing operation, the law and order situation and the way forward for Karachi during the meeting.

Referring to the incidents, the army chief directed all the commanders, including those of intelligence agencies, to continue working hand in hand, leaving no stone unturned in trying to finding the perpetrators.

Gen Raheel said the determination, courage and resolve of the Sindh Rangers to rid Karachi of terrorists and criminals has earned them wide respect from the citizens.

Sabri, a Sufi singer and Qawwali maestro, was shot dead by gunmen in a central Karachi neighbourhood, Liaquatabad, on Wednesday, triggering an outpouring of grief nationwide. Awais Ali Shah, a high court lawyer, was abducted near the Agha’s supermarket on Monday with police fearing the kidnapping may be used as a ‘bargaining chip’ to secure the release of some captured militants.

MEETING AT CORPS HEADQUARTERS, KARACHI:

In the evening, General Raheel Sharif visited Corps Headquarters Karachi. Interior Minister Ch Nisar Ali Khan, National Security Advisor (NSA) Lt Gen (r) Nasser Janjua, Sindh governor and CM, Home Minister Sindh Sohail Anwar Sial, DG ISI and the Corps Commander also attended the meeting. Participants were briefed in detail about security situation and various aspects of ongoing operation against terrorists, criminals and their linkages in Karachi.

The COAS said that the ongoing operation had brought about a noticeable improvement in the law and order situation of Karachi.

“However, as we progress to target the crime and terror syndicate network, we need to keep our focus on actionable human and technical intelligence and totally dismantle their support structure,” the COAS said.

He said that the Karachi operation has now entered into a phase where terrorists and their abettors are badly bruised, isolated; and hence, will go for softer targets in order to undermine the society psychologically. The COAS instructed all the authorities concerned to hunt down the terrorists and pre-empt their moves to frustrate their designs.

“We must continue our mission unabated to consolidate and not let anyone reverse our gains.”

Expressing his assurance to the people of Karachi the COAS emphasised that the nexus of terrorists, their abettors, sympathisers and financiers will be broken at all costs and the ongoing operation will be taken to its logical conclusion. He urged upon all the stakeholders to make earnest efforts in their respective spheres within the overall ‘Whole of the Nation Approach’ for overcoming the menace of terrorism.

He also instructed to introduce measures to build capacity of other law enforcers for lasting peace in the economic hub of the country.

WORSENING LAW AND ORDER SITUATION:

The COAS reiterated that the Karachi operation focuses on the entire network of terrorists, their abettors and financiers, and will continue until peace is restored in the city.

Every form of assistance, including intelligence and material combat support, will be provided to the Rangers to accomplish their mission, he said.

As law enforcement agencies count successes in the ongoing operation against terrorists, banned outfits and militant wings of political and religious organisations, Karachiites have faced a sudden rise in street crimes, which has cost at least four lives during the first 10 days of Ramazan and raised fears for the days ahead.

Official data shows a sharp rise in cell phone and motorbike snatching in the first 10 days of the holy month compared to crime rate during the corresponding period before Ramazan, indicating renewed activities of armed groups and individuals in the city despite ongoing Rangers-led operation.

THE KARACHI OPERATION:

The ‘operation’ against criminal elements in Pakistan’s commercial hub was initiated back in September 2013 after the federal cabinet empowered Rangers to lead a targeted advance with the support of police against criminals already identified by federal military and civilian agencies for their alleged involvement in targeted killings, kidnappings for ransom, extortion and terrorism in Karachi.

A high-level apex committee meeting chaired by the Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif on May 14, 2015 decided to implement effective policing and surveillance in the “vast suburbs of Karachi”, to prevent what the military spokesperson said were “sneaking terrorist attacks”.

Amid resentment and criticism from certain political circles over the Karachi operation, the military establishment in August said that there would be no let-up in actions by law enforcement agencies “to ensure a peaceful and terror-free Karachi”.

Although terror-related incidents have decreased up to 60 per cent in the two years since the commencement of the Karachi operation, sleeper cells of terror outfits still exist in the metropolis and law enforcers have been making concerted efforts to eliminate them, Karachi Police AIG Mushtaq Maher said in September last year.

The city police chief had said 3,000 hardcore criminals have been arrested, while 246 terrorists, 38 kidnappers and ten extortionists have been killed so far in police encounters.

Maher had said that car-snatching incidents reported in the city are the lowest in the past 15 years while motorcycle-snatching incidents are on the rise, which he said will be curtailed.

Rangers spokesman Colonel Amjad maintained that 913 terrorists including 550 target killers were nabbed while 15,400 illegal weapons were recovered from the custody of criminals operating within the city.