KARACHI: Already having been assisted by the Sindh Rangers in law enforcement for more than two decades, the Karachi police have been joined by the Pakistan army for surveillance of the city’s entry and exit corridors, which will include round-the-clock patrolling, to prevent terrorists from entering the metropolis, it emerged on Sunday.

Senior officials, insisting that the proposal to take the Pakistan army in the loop for law enforcement was not made by the Karachi police, said the move was part of the National Action Plan (NAP) devised by Islamabad under political and military leaderships.

“The idea is to secure Karachi’s exit and entrance boundaries from where regular movements are made,” said additional inspector general Ghulam Qadir Thebo. “Pakistan army soldiers have joined the Karachi police and Sindh Rangers to make a joint team to conduct surveillance of the three major points — Toll Plaza on the Superhighway, Ghaggar Phatak on the National Highway and the Hub corridor.”

He said six vehicles, two at each point, carried joint patrolling teams which covered the areas marked for surveillance. Though not every vehicle or individual was being checked by the team, he said, the exercise would spot people and vehicles randomly.

“The Karachi police did not make any request or proposal for assistance of the Pakistan army,” said city police chief Thebo. “It’s a part of the overall security arrangement being made across the country under the National Action Plan. Since Karachi being the mega city has always been under threat, the move has been initiated to strengthen the security cover around the city.”

He said he was sure that the exercise would prove effective in maintaining strict surveillance of three key points which allowed free movement of people and vehicles. Other than the initiative under NAP, Mr Thebo had other reasons, too, to rely on the joint exercise of the law enforcement agencies with the Pakistan army.

“Since the Karachi operation is going on, we already need it to strengthen this particular area. Then there is a movement of a large number of those vehicles which are snatched or stolen in the city and later used in criminal activities. So the move would help cover all these issues,” he said.

Only on Tuesday Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, presiding over a meeting on security and law and order, had directed the law enforcement agencies to intensify vigilance at entry and exit points of the province.

Though Mr Shah appreciated the progress of the ‘targeted operation’ in Karachi, he wanted the law enforcers to accelerate the operation to purge the province of terrorist elements.

“The joint team of police, Rangers and army would also help keep record of vehicles entering Karachi. The team has also assistance of the anti-carlifting cell, so in case of any suspicion they can be taken onboard for verification of any vehicle’s legality. The exercise has just begun this week and the results will be emerging soon,” said a senior official.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2015

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