KARACHI: City Council criticizes police attitude: Devolution system failure
KARACHI, Nov 19: The City Council on the first day of its Ramazan session on Tuesday set aside its agenda and discussed police’s highhandedness on the masses and elected representatives.
Giving his ruling after the charged session, Naib Nazim and convener of the Council, Tariq Hassan, said that only police would be blamed for the failure of the devolution system.
Mr Hasan, after listening to discussions by different speakers who criticized the police for alleged excesses on members of the Council, said that Karachi police was not ready to accept the role of elected members and their attitude with the Council members was even deplorable.
Members of the House, who have had problems with the police on various occasions, highlighted their experiences. Sharif Awan said that an FIR was lodged against him and he had to spend a night in the lockup, only because of having some differences with sub-inspector Imtiaz Siddique of the Civil Lines police station, whom he had stopped from resorting to extortion a couple of months ago.
Yasin Nagori of Gulshan-i-Iqbal said that two FIRs were lodged against him in different police stations. “On one occasion I was attending a UC meeting in my office and the police alleged in the FIR that I had kidnapped a man and locked him up in the UC office.”
The speakers referred to Council members who had been intimidated by the police, including Sharif Awan, Yasin Nagori, Michael Javed, Farhan Syed, Malik Akhter and Abdul Rauf.
Woman councillor Mumtaz Shamim Wasi informed the House about her ordeal, when the police were establishing a kiosk in a women park in Saddar Town. Siddique Rathore highlighted the technical flaws of the FIR lodged against Sharif Awan.
He said that sections 504 and 506, mentioned in the FIR, were related to abusing, threatening and murder. He expressed surprise over the fact that how could anybody abuse and threaten a police official inside a police station.
Raza Jatoi, Gulshan-i-Hadeed UC Nazim, presented photographs and other documentary proof, showing that police were patronizing some elements who reportedly purchased dead animals from Cattle Colony and sold the meat in markets. He alleged that police personnel were also involved in collecting bribes from stall- holders in weekly bazaars.
It was suggested that a high-level delegation, consisting of City Nazim, Naib Nazim and the Council members, should meet the provincial police chief, CCPO and DIG to discuss and eliminate the abuse of powers by the police.
Jafarul Hasan, Ghulam Abbas Talpur, Mehrunnisa Baloch, Michael Javed and Feroza Azmat also spoke.—PPI
