A PPP meeting chaired by former president Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari granted its approval after a tug of war over the issue as the time of special powers to the Rangers expired on July 19, the party sources said.
The meeting also directed the provincial government to approve a summary extending Rangers’ powers in Karachi for three months, sources further said.
Extending policing powers to Rangers has become a bone of contention between the provincial and federal governments.
Rangers and the Sindh government are at crossroads over several cases including the arrest of former PPP minister Dr Asim Hussain who has been in the paramilitary custody for almost a year now. The row deepened when Asad Kharal was arrested by the paramilitary force near Hyderabad.
Kharal, a PPP worker and alleged ‘front man’ of the key party leaders, was accused of corruption worth millions of rupees.
Rangers force leading an operation against criminals in Karachi since September 2013 with assistance of the police under the powers bestowed on the paramilitary force under Article-147.
