Giving a “broad overview” of its five-year performance regarding maintaining peace in Karachi, the Sindh government on Monday put the onus of the worst-ever law and order in Karachi on the US-led war against terrorism.
“The geneses of this issue is complicated but what is now understood by many is that it is not an ordinary law and order,” Leader of the House Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah told Monday’s sitting of the provincial legislature which met with Speaker Nisar Khuhro in the chair.
Claiming credit on his government’s successful efforts for poverty reduction, job creation, economic growth and human development, Shah said the security situation in Karachi remained fragile causing pain and misery to thousands of families.
“It will not be incorrect to say that it is an off-shoot of the larger conflict that this country is fighting,” he said, adding “This even the military establishment had acknowledged in its recently–issued policy statement.”
“There is a bigger war within the country that requires dedicated attention,” the chief minister quoted the establishment as saying.
Shah said given these complexities, multifaceted efforts aiming at containing damages and deescalating conflict were underway.
Claiming to have reacted swiftly to the “ghastly” AbbasTown incident, the chief minister said his government had been able to resolve issues through engaging multiple political stakeholders in the city.
Shah said to improve the law and order during the last five years, the provincial government had increased the annual budget to Rs 32 billion in 2013 from Rs 9 billion in 2008.
The PPP stalwart left many scratching their heads by comparing 4,000 killings in Karachi with 19,000 in Lahore where, he claimed, the law and order was even worse.
He said in the last five years the law enforcers had arrested over 480 targeted killers and had detected 720 others. The police had registered 505 cases of extortion, arresting 365 accused, in the last two years.
Shah said the Sindh Police had netted many terrorist networks, killing 37 terrorists belonging to banned outfits, arresting 410 others along with large caches of arms and ammunition. Having inducted 10,300 under training police constables in police force, the chief minister lamented the Election Commission of Pakistan’s bar on further hiring of 8,400 additional policemen “badly needed for beefing up security in Karachi”.
Underlining his government’s “towering” achievements such as the 18th Amendment, the 7th NFC Award, the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan, creating 165,000 jobs, Thar coal project, regularisation of goths, legislation on women empowerment and other projected related to human and infrastructure development, Shah said his government, however, recognised that these were not enough.
The chief minister said the companies working on wind and coal had the capacity to enhance power generation to 10,000MW by 2020. “These firms had committed to investing around $20 billion in the energy-related projects in the province,” he said.
“There are many who have tried to undermine the strategic significance of the PPP’s reconciliation philosophy and strategy. Let me say this boldly that the political system in Pakistan can now only move forward through reconciliation and the policy of live and let live,” the chief minister told the lawmakers amid ear-splitting noise of desk-thumping.
The 168-member House could not undertake any legislation on the day and was adjourned until Wednesday.
Shah’s speech was followed by a “critical analysis” by Leader of Opposition Sardar Ahmed of the MQM, who highlighted various shortcomings in the government’s policies and its implementation on ground.
However, the leader of the House almost embarrassed the MQM senior lawmaker by saying that his party had just parted ways with the government and should, therefore, take equal responsibility for whatever wrong had been committed.
The House adopted a resolution moved by PPP’s minority lawmaker Slaeem Khursheed Khokhar, to condemn attack on a Christian locality in Badami Bagh in Lahore.
