KARACHI, Feb 12: In view of persisting threat of terrorism and short strength of police force in the metropolis, the government has decided that police should remain on red alert till Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain.
This was stated by Sindh Home Secretary Brig (Retd) Ghulam Muhammad Mohtaram while talking to a group of journalists at his office on Monday afternoon.
He said since 9/11 incident the security challenges had increased which called for additional security measures. He said during the last few years special arrangements were made to ensure security of foreigners, diplomats, sensitive installations, mosques and worship places.In reply to a question, he said the city with a population of 18 million people had police strength of 29,000 personnel. With persistent shortage of personnel and after their deployment on VIP duties, only 21,000 were left with police stations. He said the leftover strength was insufficient to man the mega city with population equal to that of New York where police strength was about 90,000.
He said the federal and provincial government had been already notified about the shortage of police and vacancies lying vacant in the police department.
When he was asked about the directive of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz that he gave four months ago about recruitment of 5,000 cops to improve law and order, the home secretary said the vacancies could not be filled due to certain political reasons. However, he was optimistic about overcoming the hurdles soon in this respect.
Brig Mohtaram said the installation of secret cameras and modern electronic devices at vintage points and main arteries was in progress which would be linked with the centralised computer system for monitoring and curbing crimes and its tenders were floated which were under process. Some firms having experience of installing such security gadgets in cities like London had shown interest, he added.
He said the work would start in phases and initially the job would be assigned in the high security zone.
The home secretary disclosed that those arrested on the eve of Ashura were criminals or belonged to banned organisations. However, he said, their link with Al-Qaeda or other groups who had indulged in suicide attacks elsewhere in the country could not be established.
“We are still beyond their range. But, we are keeping red alert and strict watch to curb them,” he added.
