Sindh authorities given one-month ultimatum to restore law and order

• SHC CJ Justice Abbasi chairs session on law and order situation.
• Street crimes in Karachi, katcha bandits big challenges: Sindh IGP.
• Over 50 citizens lost lives in street crimes incidents since January.

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Saturday give a one-month ultimatum to the provincial authorities to restore law and order in the province amid rising incidents of street crime in Karachi, Geo News reported.

The directives were issued after SHC Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi chaired a session on the law and order situation in Sindh earlier today. 

Justice Abbasi ordered the provincial authorities to restore law and order across the province within a month. He also directed strict actions against “influential persons” who were involved in sabotaging the law and order situation. 

The SHC chief justice also summoned a detailed report regarding the law and order in 15 days.

Following the SHC orders, Inspector General Police (IGP) Sindh Ghulam Nabi Memon said that the high court’s top judge was briefed on the situation and gave instructions. He added that the police department also gave a briefing to the high court regarding the implementation of previous court orders.

He admitted that street crimes were among key elements behind deteriorated peace situation in Karachi while bandits of katcha (riverine) were also a big challenge to maintain law and order in other parts of the province.

“Discussions were also held on increasing patrolling of police contingents to curb street crimes in Karachi. There is a need to improve our criminal justice system, whereas, key points were also discussed regarding the interrogation process,” he added.

The Sindh police chief assured the SHC that the department will ensure that no fake cases are registered against the citizens.

At least 50 citizens have their lives in separate street crime incidents since January 2024, according to a resolution submitted to the Sindh Assembly.

Rs5m compensation for street crimes’ victims

Yesterday, a resolution has been submitted to the secretariat of the Sindh Assembly, urging the provincial government to pay compensation of Rs5 million to the heirs of each citizen dying at the hands of street criminals in Karachi.

The resolution was submitted by a Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) from Karachi, Taha Ahmed Khan, who belongs to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), The News reported.

The resolution urged that the Sindh government should also bear the educational expenses of the children of the deceased victims of street crimes in Karachi. It said that one of the eligible heirs of the victims of street crime in Karachi should also be offered government jobs.

The MQM-P lawmaker also demanded that the Safe City Project should immediately be rolled out in Karachi to develop a sophisticated and modern system of electronic surveillance to a keep check on the activities of criminals and robbers.

He said the government should take stern action against erring station house officers (SHO) who failed to overcome street crime in their respective jurisdictions.

He said that police officers domiciled in Karachi should be deputed as SHOs at various police stations in the city as the non-local SHOs didn’t know the dynamics and ground realities of the areas of their responsibility.