CM Murad reiterates 'zero tolerance' against street crimes in Karachi

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah directed the police to improve their performance and curb street crimes in Karachi by concentrating on the hotspots in the city.

Presiding over a meeting on law and order on the first day of his third term in office, Murad Ali Shah also passed directives for the revival of all the non-functional check posts established in the Katcha area to control kidnapping for ransom and other hardcore crimes.

At the outset of the meeting, the chief minister said that the dacoits have established their sway in the Katcha areas of Larkana and Sukkur divisions. “I am not happy with the increasing trend of street crime and kidnapping for ransom in Larkana and Sukkur division,” he said and added that he wanted a targeted operation against drug mafia to eliminate them properly.

Street Crimes in Karachi

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Riffat Mukhtar giving a presentation to the CM said that during the last two months, 23 people were killed during robberies, 3953 mobile phones, 46 four-wheelers, and 1537 two-wheelers were snatched.

To a question, the IGP police told the CM that street crimes are high within the limits of 22 police stations in Karachi. The CM directed the IGP to provide him with a list of 22 vulnerable police stations in terms of street crime and identify the hotspots so that special focus could be given to them.

Murad Ali Shah directed the city police chief to get all his SSPs on the roads in the evening time. He added that street crime mostly started after sunset, directing the police to ensure police presence on the roads to control them.

To a question, the CM was told that there were 108 police stations with a strength of 12,000 policemen in Karachi. The CM said that Karachi has a strength of 48,000 policemen but only 12,000 policemen are deployed at 108 police stations which he said showed that each police station had 112 policemen on average.

Murad Ali Shah directed the IGP to rationalise the police force deployed in other units and raise the strength of police stations from 12000 to 24,000. The IGP told the CM that there were 25,000 vacant posts of policemen in the province. At this, the CM directed him to start recruitment purely on merit.

Crimes in Katcha area

To a question, the IGP police told the CM that only 14 cases of kidnapping for ransom were outstanding. During the discussion, it was disclosed that a large number of people from other provinces have been kidnapped through the honey trap and are kept in the Katcha areas between Sindh and Punjab. The CM directed the IGP to work out a plan to start a crackdown in the Katcha area.

Murad Ali Shah said that he is waiting for the formation of a new government in Balochistan so that a joint strategy with Punjab and Balochistan could be developed to launch a joint operation.

The CM directed the IGP to revive the non-functional police stations in the Katcha areas. “I will visit the Katcha area and meet with the policemen deployed at the checkposts and hold a joint meeting of police and Rangers there,” he said.

The meeting was also attended by Chief Secretary Dr Fakhre Alam, Director General Sindh Rangers Major General Azhar Waqas, Home Secretary Iqbal Memon, Commissioner Karachi Saleem Rajput, DIGs Azfar Mahesar, Asad Raza, Asif Qaimkhani, and others. Divisional Commissioners Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas, Larkana, and Shaheed Benazirabad also attended the meeting through video link.

Earlier on February 26, theNewly-elected Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah pledged to deliver after being elected as the provincial chief executive for a record third time.

In his speech at Sindh Assembly after being elected as the CM, Murad Ali Shah thanked the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and its top leadership for choosing him for the post. “I have been chosen for the third time for leading the province and I have been elected as the member of this House for the fifth time,” he said.

The seasoned politician has served twice as Sindh’s chief minister from 2016 to 2018 and then from 2018 to 2023, and this will be his third consecutive term.