Mostly economic migrants involved in street crime in Karachi: Sharjeel

Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon has said that the investigation conducted by the provincial police force to solve street crime cases shows that mostly non-locals are involved in recurring incidents of depriving Karachi’s people of their valuables at gunpoint.

Addressing a news conference on Monday, Memon said that despite facing problems, the police had solved a number of cases pertaining to street crime incidents in the city. He said Karachi continues to receive a large influx of people from upcountry, as a large majority of them come here to earn a livelihood. “But many of these people are found involved in street crime.”

He also said the Sindh police and its Counter Terrorism Department have been discharging their duties in the best possible manner, as they have solved a number of high-profile terrorism cases.

“We need to overcome the atmosphere of fear in the city, as in several incidents of street crime, the citizens don’t turn up to register an FIR or give the due eyewitness testimony.” The minister told the media that the police have solved up to 54.4 per cent of the cases of street crime involving the murder of the victim, while up to 36.66 per cent of the cases of street crime involving injuries to the victim have been solved.

He, however, admitted that street crime has emerged as a serious problem in the city, but he said the police have been making serious efforts to tackle this problem. He claimed that police officers having a good reputation have been posted to tackle this problem. He informed the media that more personnel and officers will be inducted into the police force to enhance patrolling to keep a check on instances of street crime in Karachi.

Reconstruction

Memon informed the journalists that the Sindh government has started planning to reconstruct a large number of houses devastated by the recent floods and torrential monsoon rains in the province, saying that billions of rupees will be reserved for the purpose.

He said the provincial government will conduct seminars in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and other cities on the issue of reconstruction of the damaged houses, adding that foreign diplomats and media representatives will be invited to attend these informative sessions.

He also said that a member of the royal family of the UAE has offered to construct 300 houses for the homeless flood victims in Sindh.

He added that the proposed construction plan will include a school, a mosque and a community centre, while solar panels will be installed to energise the new homes. He hoped that work to construct this housing facility for the flood-affected people will start soon.

The information minister reiterated his appeal to the philanthropists across the country that they join the provincial government in helping the disaster-hit people together.

‘Investigate Imran’

Memon appealed to the Federal Investigation Agency and the Federal Board of Revenue to thoroughly probe the cases pending against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, saying that the audit of the donations received by Khan in the name of the Shaukat Khanum Hospital should also be conducted.

The minister said Khan has compromised national interests for the sake of his politics. “I don’t want false cases lodged against Imran Khan, but due legal action should be taken to resolve the cases already pending against him.”

He said the PTI has been able to secure stay orders from courts against the investigation into the alleged corrupt practices committed during the party’s regime. He added that Khan and the PTI’s social media teams appeared in court of the woman judge in Islamabad when she was on leave. He pointed out that this was no way to apologise for threatening an honourable member of the judiciary.