115000 Policemen To Perform Duties In General Election: CM

Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar on Wednesday said that a total of 115,500 policemen have been assigned to perform security duty during the upcoming general election

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Jan, 2024) Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar on Wednesday said that a total of 115,500 policemen have been assigned to perform security duty during the upcoming general election.

These police officers will be responsible for maintaining law and order on 191 seats, including 61 National Assembly seats and 130 provincial assembly seats. The election is scheduled to take place on February 8.

This he said while responding to the questions asked by the participants of the PN Staff Course of Pakistan Navy War College who called on him here at CM House.

The meeting was attended by provincial ministers Brig (R) Haris Nawaz, Mubeen Jumani, Omar Soomro, Ahmad Shah, Chief Secretary Dr Fakhre Alam, Chairman P&D Shakeel Mangnejo, IG Police Riffat Mukhtar and provincial secretaries.

The war course delegation was led by Commandant Navy War College Rear Admiral Azhar Mehmood.

In response to a question, the CM stated that treatment plants were being installed to release treated waste and industrial water into the sea, which would help control the pollution in the seawater.

Additionally, the Sindh government has planted one million mangrove plants in the sea. Mangroves are a natural infrastructure that helps protect nearby populated areas by reducing erosion and absorbing storm surge impacts during extreme weather events such as hurricanes. They are also important to the ecosystem due to their dense roots, which help bind and build soils.

To another question, the CM said that his government has initiated several schemes to mitigate the impact of climate change.

During a presentation to the staff course, IG Police Riffat Mukhtar highlighted the key challenges faced by law enforcement in Pakistan. He noted that street crime in urban areas, particularly in Karachi, and lawlessness in the katcha areas of Kashmore, Shikarpur, Ghotki, and Sukkur were significant issues. While terrorism was also a challenge, it had been controlled through intelligence-based targeted operations.

The IG emphasized that the police were fully prepared to provide security for the upcoming general elections.

When discussing street crime, the IG identified mobile phone/cash snatching, vehicle theft/snatching, house robberies, murders, and extortion as major issues.

Despite fluctuations in the rate of street crime, it remains a chronic urban issue.

He said police are currently patrolling and conducting targeted operations to control the situation.

Chief Secretary Dr Fakhre Alam suggested that the criminal justice system needs reform, specifically with regard to urban street crime. He believes that the launching of the Karachi Safe City Project, along with increasing the technical capacity of the Police, would help resolve the matter.

The IG told the participants that there were four major heads of crime in the Katcha area such as kidnapping for ransom through honey trapping and forced kidnapping; highway robberies, tribal feuds and smuggling.

During 2023 261 persons were kidnapped, of them all the abducted persons have been freed from the clutches of dacoits and still 16 kidnappings were outstanding.

The police were taking strict measures to control the crime of kidnapping for ransom.

Chairman of Planning and Development (P&D) Shakil Mangejo briefed the participants on the development portfolio of Sindh province.

He informed that Sindh has vast resources, including 184 billion tons of coal reserves, producing 3300 MW of electricity, 2100 MMCFD gas, 8.049 million barrels of oil, 1.862 Million bales of cotton, 3.9 MMTs of wheat, 2.58 MMTs of rice, 18.335 MMTs of sugarcane, 46.2 million livestock, and 57,000 km of road networks. He also mentioned that this year (2023-23), Sindh is performing debt servicing of Rs68.179 billion.

Mangejo outlined the development priorities of the province, which include improving educational infrastructure, enhancing the quality of education, and increasing enrolment.

The other priorities are upgrading health facilities, conserving water for agriculture, industrial and municipal consumption, providing clean drinking water, safe disposal of sewage, improving municipal services, and enhancing inter/intra city road connectivity and transportation.

The chairman of P&D also informed that the budget outlay of the province was Rs 2.28 trillion.