KARACHI: Only a day after rejecting the Rangers proposal for video surveillance of the NA-246 by-election for want of time, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah agreed to the paramilitary force advice and assigned the task to a senior official.

The official has been asked to approach the Election Commission of Pakistan to seek technological assistance in this regard.

The approval to the project came on Friday at an apex committee meeting, chaired by the chief minister, at CM House. Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan, cabinet members, Corps Commander Lt General Naveed Mukhtar, DG Rangers Major General Bilal Akbar and senior officials attended the meeting.

“The Rangers and police also briefed the meeting about the arrangements for the by-election in NA-246,” said the CM House statement. It said: “Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah directed chief secretary Siddique Memon to consult the Election Commission of Pakistan to use 250 cameras of Sindh IT department on the polling day.

“The Rangers DG thanked the chief minister for his support and cooperation,” it added.

The Rangers had proposed to the Sindh home department and the Election Commission of Pakistan earlier this week for the installation of a biometric verification system and a video surveillance of every polling station in the Azizabad constituency to ensure “free, fair and transparent” election on April 23.

The very next day the chief minister rejected the move, saying that “time may not allow [installation of] CCTV and biometric system”.

In a brief interaction with the media, Mr Shah said he had told the Rangers DG that if such arrangements, which were difficult to ensure, were made for one constituency, how they would be made for all polling booths in the general elections.

Crackdown on funding

The apex committee also discussed the ongoing operation against terrorists and decided to “crush funding arteries of terrorist outfits by launching a comprehensive operation based on solid information and intelligence work,” said the statement.

“Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, Maj General Akbar briefing the meeting pointed out that a large number of terrorists belonging to banned outfits and other organisations have been arrested. But special attention is needed to be given to their funding, which is made through extortion, illegal hydrants, kidnapping for ransom and other such means,” said the statement.

The meeting was informed that some arm dealers were also involved in illegal trade of weapons, while running “a parallel government by filling arms licence application, stamping them and then making illegal licence books,” the statement quoted the Rangers DG as briefing the meeting.

On this, the statement said, the chief minister directed the home secretary to personally look into the matter in coordination with Maj Gen Akbar to take action against such dealers.

The corps commander suggested that record of seminaries in the province should be computerised and there should a detailed record in the government system. “The details such as seminary location, number of students, the area they belong to, the teachers and the area they come from and the size of the madressa building and source of their income [be recorded],” the statement quoted the corps commander as saying.

“On this, the chief minister taking a policy decision directed the law and home secretaries to take necessary measures and in coordination with the police prepare a comprehensive database,” it added.

The corps commander further said land grabbing was one of the sources of funding to terrorism. The land of Karachi was precious and there would be violent disputes on their ownerships claims, therefore, their record must be computerised, he said.

“The chief minister said a scheme of computerisation of revenue record was initiated on the directives of former president Asif Ali Zardari,” said the statement. “Presently, 80 per cent record has been computerised and very soon in the light of that record a drastic operation against land grabbers would be initiated.”

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2015

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