Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister Justice (retd) MaqboolBaqar, presiding over a meeting, approved the medical insurance policy of all the policemen against over Rs 1 billion and issued directives for strengthening and renovating all the police stations. He took this decision while presiding over a meeting to review the progress of the implementation of decisions taken in the Special APEX Committee meeting held on October 6, 2023, at CM House.
The meeting was attended by Minister Home Brig (retd) Haris Nawaz, Minister Law Omar Soomro, Chief Secretary DrFakhreAlam, PSCM Hassan Naqvi, Home Secretary IqbalMemon, IG Police RiffatMukhtar, Secretary Finance KazimJatoi, and Adl IG Karachi Khadim Rind, DIGs. Home Secretary IqbalMemon briefed the chief minister about the implementation status of the Special Apex Committee decisions. He said that the Provincial, Divisional, and District Implementation Committees have been notified in pursuance of the Ministry of Interior policy on the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan.
The decisions taken in the 1st meeting of the Provincial Implementation Committee held on October 12, 2023 are as follows: The Special Branch (SB) is designated as the lead agency for the implementation of the repatriation plan. It would identify the localities, including business areas, with the help of the other law enforcement agencies (LEA).
The Special Branch would ascertain illegal foreigners through effective ground check-in. The areas identified would be targeted. The Divisional and District Implementation Committees would also collect data and share it with the home department. The law enforcement agencies (LEAs) would assess the identified areas and decide on combing operations if required. The chief secretary said that the federal government has already directed the NADRA and the ministry of SAFRON to assist the LEAs during operations for the verification of illegal immigrants.
The meeting decided that the data of non-Pakistanis recorded in Sindh in the census of 2023 would be obtained from the Census Commissioner for the mapping of legal and illegal immigrants. PoR and ACC holders would have to register themselves at the nearest police stations, and failure to do so would be considered illegal foreigners. The CM directed the Prosecutor General to expedite the early disposal of all cases of illegal foreigners pending in courts from time to time. Inspector General of Police RiffatMukhtar, briefing the chief minister, said that there were 621 police stations in the province, of which 66 were in good condition, 315 were normal, and 240 were in bad condition.
He said that out of 621 police stations, 272 have been established on police land, three are on rent, and 346 have been established on Sindh government property. The CM said that he has visited a number of police stations, but all of them are in pathetic condition. At this point, the IG police said that Rs 475.862 million had been allocated for maintenance and repair (M&R), which was not enough. The CM was told that the recent floods have badly damaged the police station building. The CM directed the IG to get all police station buildings repaired, and he would provide him with funds, but the police stations would not be made in a fancy style.
Baqar said that the police stations must be fortified by constructing strong walls, watch towers, and reception, and all the police stations should have the same standard construction. The chief minister, on the recommendation of the IG Police and Home Department, approved a medical insurance policy for all the policemen, which would cost over Rs 1 billion annually.
Additional IG Karachi Khadim Rind told the CM that he has started proactive policing to control street crimes. He said that the police have conducted 152 encounters and killed 23 criminals, injured 164, and arrested 769 from September 6 to October 12, 2023. Similar actions have also been taken against vehicle lifters. He said illegal weapons have been recovered, including 709 pistols, eight rifles, three shotguns, and one hand grenade, between September 6 and October 12, 2023. Khadim Rind said that frequent combing operations in slum areas have been started, along with snap-checking peak hours.
The city police have also started surveillance and action against bailed-out criminals, repeat offenders, and narcotic peddlers. An increase in watch and surveillance through CCTV camera networks and command and control center proliferation has also been made. To a question, the Adl IG Karachi said that mobile phone snatching might be higher than the reported cases.
He added that there were gangs who reopened the locked phone through the software they had arranged; therefore, a crackdown against them was on the cards. The CM directed Adl IG Karachi to keep the police stations of the city inspecting. A similar task should also be assigned to the DIG and SSPs. He added that during his visits to the police station, he found that most of the policemen were absent from duty. The inspection process would strengthen the police stations with personnel, equipment, transport facilities, the maintenance of wireless systems, and the proper maintenance of different registers., the CM said.
