KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said on Tuesday that he would contact the Balochistan government for the installation of scanners on the inter-provincial border to stop the movement of terrorists who enter Sindh and return to the neighbouring province after carrying out attacks.

“The detection of the Shikarpur imambargah bomb blast is a glaring example. I would talk to the Balochistan government and we would work out strict vigilance and scanning on the border jointly,” he said while chairing a meeting to review the law and order situation at CM House. Home Secretary Mukhtiar Soomro, Inspector General of Police Ghulam Hyder Jamali and Rangers director general Major General Bilal Akbar briefed the CM.

‘72 madressahs closed’

Briefing about measures being taken under the National Action Plan, the home secretary told the CM that 72 madressahs had been closed in the Hyderabad Range.

“Police search operations are being carried out against madressahs suspected to be involved in terrorist activities. The SSPs have been directed to strictly implement the ban on construction of new madressahs,” he added.

He said that the flags of proscribed organisations had been removed across Sindh.

He said that 67 militants of the banned outfits had been killed and 26 arrested. Under the Loudspeaker Act, 363 cases had been registered and 149 arrests had been made.

Twenty-one cases pertaining to hate material had been registered, he said, adding that 1,048 Afghan refugees were arrested and 408 cases registered.

Police kill 269 ‘criminals’ in three months

In his briefing, the Sindh police chief said that from Jan 1, 2015 to March 23, police killed 269 “criminals”, including 67 militants, 42 Lyari gangsters, 11 kidnappers and 149 robbers across Sindh. The same figure was 858 in 2014, he added.

Talking about the killing of criminals during the 560 days of the targeted operation, IGP Jamali said that 888 criminals had been killed.

About the recovery of illegal arms and ammunition recovered in Sindh during 2015, he said that a bomb-making factory was detected and destroyed in Karachi last week. Some 200 kilograms of explosive material was recovered. The other recoveries include six bombs, two RPG-7 rockets, four suicide jackets, 168 grenade-rifles, one G-3 rifle, 81 Kalashnikovs, 204 shotguns and 2,108 pistols.

85 arrested in raid on Nine Zero

Rangers DG Major General Bilal Akbar briefed the CM about the March 11 raid on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement headquarters in Azizabad, popularly known as Nine Zero.

He said that Rangers conducted an information-led search operation around the MQM headquarters in which total 85 persons were arrested.

He said that 26 persons were handed over to police, who booked them under different cases. “During interrogation the arrested accused disclosed their involvement in a number of heinous crimes.”

He said that 59 other persons apprehended during the raid were detained for 90 days.

During the search operation, the Rangers DG said, a mob gathered at the place and resorted to firing due to which one person was killed and another wounded.

About the weapons seized during the raid, he said that four 9mm pistol, 19 7mm rifles, 22 repeaters, 22 rifles, two LMGs, one Kalashnikov, 26 awan bombs, 18 sub-machine guns, two 223-rifles, 14 pistols of .30-bore, four 8mm rifles, one M4 rifle, 13 G-22 riffles, two .222 rifles and 11 rifles of GSG-5.

He said that so far no licence of the seized arms had been produced before the police.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2015

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