MQM-Pakistan leader condemns Karachi police chief’s statement on crime situation in city

The Karachi police chief, Jawed Alam Odho, is a competent officer but he made an irresponsible statement on the crime situation in Karachi saying that Karachi was relatively more peaceful than Lahore.

Khawaja Izharul Hassan, an MPA and deputy convener of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), said this on Sunday while addressing a press conference.

The Karachi police chief should not talk about politics and the statement given by him on Saturday was a certificate of exoneration to all the criminal elements robbing the people of Karachi on a daily basis, Hassan said, adding that the police should admit that street crime was on the rise and they had failed to control the criminals.

The MPA said the MQM-P strongly condemned his statement. He remarked that the Sindh chief minister had failed completely to maintain law and order in Karachi.

Owing to the bad police performance, it took years to identify the criminals, he lamented as he remarked that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari had been taking credit for starting targeted operations in Karachi but he never specified the areas where he had established peace.

Zardari should tell the public who was involved in street crimes in Karachi, Hassan said. He alleged that instead of arresting the street criminals, the police had been patronising them and it seemed that criminals had been given a licence for robbing the people of Karachi.

The MQM-P leader said no one was safe in Karachi. He went on to allege that the mafia occupying land of Karachi was working under the supervision of the police.

Hassan said provisions of anti-terrorism law should be imposed on street crime cases. He added that there was not a single political party that had not been raising concern over the rising street crime in the city, and this was evidence of the poor performance by the police.

He stressed the need for formulating a good strategy to end street crime in the city.

Criticising Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Administrator Murtaza Wahab, the MQM-P leader said he belonged to Karachi, but for political gains he had to stay connected with the PPP. “I want to ask him what he gave to Karachi in exchange for collecting Rs300 billion taxes. Why do the PPP leaders collect taxes from Karachi and not from Sukkur and Larkana?” Hassan asked.

Decrying the government’s decision to collect municipal charges through power bills, he said many people had installed three electricity meters on their 120-square-yard three-storey houses and it was not possible for them to pay municipal taxes three times. If people were forced to pay the municipal tax like this, they would stop paying their power bills, Hassan added.

He demanded that the apex committee be immediately convened to discuss the issue of municipal tax. The MQM-P rejected the inclusion of municipal tax in electricity bills and demanded withdrawal of the forced tax, the MPA asserted.

In an apparent reference to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, he said those who demanded that the MQM-P leave the government had also done nothing in their three-and-a-half-year tenure. He said if the MQM-P should leave the government, they should also stop dreaming of becoming the prime minister.