A larger bench of the Supreme Court (SC) comprising Justice Jawad S Khawaja, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmani and Justice Amir Hani Muslim resumed hearing on Karachi law and order situation at Karachi Registry of the SC.
Justice Jawad Khawaja said that it seems as if the authorities were not taking the matter seriously and the court was carrying out a meaningless drill. He said that the report submitted in this regard did not include that the people involved in terrorism have support from the political parties.
He alleged that the concerned authority did not even attempt to answer that which means that they are accepting political interference behind deteriorating security situation in the city.
Rejecting previous reports of the provincial government on Wednesday, the court sought a comprehensive report from the Sindh IG and chief secretary on the law and order situation in Karachi in light of its decisions, latest by today.
Inspector General Sindh Police Fayyaz Leghari told the bench the police have arrested 3,000 proclaimed offenders and more than 20,000 absconders in Karachi.
He said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has banned the recruitment of 7,500 police personnel due to the forthcoming general elections. He submitted the capacity of ASIs was being enhanced after setting graduation as mandatory education for their appointment.
Justice Hussain said that the police department has confessed in its report that over 22,000 absconding offenders are roaming free in the city. “How then can the life of a common citizen be saved? How can free elections be ensured under the worst law and order situation? Who should we blame? We see no hope of peace in the city,” he said.
He remarked the provincial government should give an advertisement stating that people should come out of their homes at their own risk. Prosecutor General Sindh Shahadat Awan apprised the court that there are 22,535 proclaimed offenders and absconders present in the city.
Justice Khawaja questioned the prosecutor general why the authorities have not taken any action so far to arrest these offenders. He remarked that the government is responsible if the citizens’ life and property are not safe.
He told the police to admit that they are unable to arrest the offenders and criminals. The SC scolded the senior police officials who produced reports on the law-enforcement agencies’ performance in dealing with criminals.
