Sindh officials voice reservations over delay in new IGP’s posting

The Sindh government has shown reservations over the delay in the posting of Sindh’s new inspector general of police (IGP) despite several proposals sent to the federal government in this regard.

Officials said on Wednesday that since after the formation of the provincial government after the February 8 elections they had sent proposals for postings in different departments, especially the posting of a new IGP, for which they had also moved a letter to the federal government, but the federal authorities had not issued orders for the proposed posting.

They said it was usually seen that officials who were posted during the caretaker setup had to be removed after the formation of government, but in Sindh’s case the situation was different. In a recent meeting, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah showed reservations over the performance of the police in in Karachi, the interior of Sindh, especially in the Katcha areas, and on highways, where robberies and kidnappings were reported on daily basis, but since the caretaker setup no operation had carried out in the Katcha areas.

The CM in his meeting directed the police to improve the performance of the 22 police stations by concentrating on hotspots in Karachi, where the street crime rate was higher, and to ensure the revival of all the non-functional check posts established in the Katcha areas to control kidnappings for ransom.

“I want the strength of police stations must be increased from 12,000 policemen to 24,000 across the 108 police stations in the city.”

He said the dacoits had established their sway in the riverine 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 divisions,” he said and added that he wanted a targeted operation against the drug mafia to eliminate them properly.

The CM directed the IGP to revive the police stations in the Katcha area. “I’ll visit

the Katcha area and meet with the policemen deployed at the check posts and hold a joint meeting of police and Rangers there.” On Wednesday, Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar said in a statement that the appointment of a new IGP had been delayed.

The law and order situation in Sindh has deteriorated, and immediate administrative decisions are needed to improve it, he said, adding that the delay in appointment of IGP violates the alliance agreement, as they sent names for IGP on March 4 but the federal government did not remove the IGP. Lanjar said the unnecessary delay is hampering efforts for peace in Sindh.