Sindh facing shortage of 42,000 cops, home minister tells PA

Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar answered questions in the provincial assembly session on Wednesday after the speech of the opposition leader and others and informed the house about the operations and actions being taken by the government and law enforcing departments to improve the law and order situation in the province.

After the formation of the PPP government, he said, the chief minister listed his priorities, in which law and order was a top priority, while President Asif Ali Zardari recently held two meetings on law and order in which all stakeholders were present. There will be no compromise on law and order in Sindh, he added.

Lanjar said the total number of police personnel in Sindh is 119,373 and recruitment underway in Sindh Police. He noted that at present, 42,000 posts are vacant for police constables and in this regard recruitment is taking place.

He said there is one policeman for every four hundred and fifty people worldwide and here in Sindh there is one policeman for 594 people.

Replying to a question where the police force was, the home minister said Sindh is the only province where every nationality is settled. The police number need to be increased and strengthened as per standards. “I say to those who criticize the police: this is your police.”

He added black sheep are in every institution and the police are doing their job. The police are assigned polio duty, revenue problems, motorway, railways have called the police, there is no need for police at federal installations when FCs are performing duty and the police perform duties in judges and squad duties. Rangers are playing an important role in Sindh and they have a budget of Rs6 billion. Moreover, Rangers in Sindh are working with the police on various targets and they are also working closely with the police in Katcha areas, he added.

The home minister informed the hosue that if the personnel on VIP duties are removed from the total squad, then at least one personnel per six to seven hundred people comes and also the Motorway and Railway Police have called back Sindh Police personnel. “We have SIU, CIA, Madadgar-15, Security Unit One, Security Unit Two and the Court police are also working. We have a separate foreign security cell and the SSUs are very helpful to us. The best security arrangements were made for the Iranian president. The Iranian president’s security was seen on strict instructions of the Sindh chief minister.”

He added that the Special Branch should be the best information department, and if we have a terrorist incident, the situation will improve if the police will work on the information of the Special Branch. They are giving vehicles to Special Branch personnel, the CTD is playing an important role against terrorist organizations, the police have always shown courage and they took timely action on the attack on the Japanese, there are police training centers across Sindh where police are being given good training, the technical department is working on technical telecom or wireless which is being looked after by the DIG, he noted.

Lanjar said citizens were facing difficulties regarding driving licences and “we’re going to do the whole system online. Those whose first licences are made, if they have to renew, then they will now be able to get the work done easily by paying online fees. We want the traffic system in Karachi to improve so that the city looks beautiful. Don’t have to worry about our city.”

The home minister said they had a talk with the Karachi mayor on the parking system “as it is the job of the city government, our job is to improve the traffic system. Mayor Karachi meets to improve traffic and if we talk about law and order, then talk about 2024, there has been a decrease. Thirteen people lost their lives during a robbery in January while three people lost their lives in May. It shouldn’t be all but the numbers are declining, crime is declining. I myself am visiting the police stations at night and I want the people of Sindh to feel that they are safe.”

Moreover, Lanjar said, if the sale and purchase of stolen goods ends, then these incidents will come down. One of the respondents ran away from the court in a case of treason and an FIR was lodged against all the police officers and they were arrested. “The answerable will be caught soon and I am sorry that our gold medallist youth was martyred. I request the chief minister of Sindh to announce compensation for those who were martyred in such incidents. Sindh CM seeks compensation for those who lost their lives in street crime, wherever there is an incident where a person loses his life during robbery, I will suspend the SHO there. There is no need for such SHOs. We are not rulers; we are servants of the people.”

The home minister said a lot of questions are raised about the Katcha area. “When I took oath, the Motorway was not running at night. You go now all motorways are running at night. I myself left this road at 3.45am with just one squad. A policeman from my constituency has been martyred in Kashmore. Two soldiers were also injured in the city of Moro and I had requested the IG Sindh to increase police force at check post in Kashmore.”

Last year in Katcha areas, he said, dacoits created a state and there was a no-go area, our police have worked, and the Rangers and police have done a great job in difficult circumstances. “Now the situation is better, the police are there. We have taken drones which are monitoring in Katcha area. The police have killed robbers who used to come and give speeches on social media.”

He further said: “The chief minister is requested to increase the price of the head money on dacoits so that there is passion in the police. Operations are going on day and night against Katcha robbers and there are hopes of improvement in law and order in Sindh. At least 74 Katcha dacoits have been sent to hell in the last three months and the police are doing a better job in Sindh. The number of our police martyrs is 18 and twenty-six police personnel were injured in four districts during the operation in Katcha areas. There have been 650 encounters in Karachi since June and ninety-nine criminals were killed. I appreciate the performance of the SSPs of Kashmore, Shikarpur and Ghotki.”

He said whatever statements we make, we should make them responsibly. The IG is present in the Sindh Assembly and the PPP government will never tolerate the most corrupt SHOs in Karachi’s police stations, he said, adding that “Vlogs are done to put us under pressure and we are not afraid of any vlogger. Whatever you have to write against us, write it will be done on merit. The vlogger who said to sell the police stations is himself a criminal. He is included in Schedule IV and no corrupt SHO will be appointed finally. You want to put pressure on me by Vlogging I won’t be under their pressure.”

The home minister revealed that Priya Kumari is alive and has come to Bahawalpur. “It’s a three-year-old case, a committee has been formed under the DIG Mirpurkhas to recover Priya Kumari and it turns out Priya Kumari is alive. It has been found that Priya Kumari has been taken to some area of Punjab. We are trying our best to rescue Priya Kumari. Moreover, the murdered journalist Nasrullah Gadani’s killers have been arrested and the case is heading for challan. The police have completed their work. The case of Jan Mohammad Mehar is also important. They will give good news in a few days.”