KARACHI: The provincial government of Sindh on Saturday decided to refer eight terrorism cases to the military courts, in line with actions taken under the National Action Plan (NAP).

Under NAP, 18 terrorists have been executed, while black warrants issued for the execution of another four terrorists have been stayed by courts.

"18 terrorists have been executed in different jails of the province while the courts have granted stay against four execution orders." the chief secretary said.

Read: Army chief approves increase in military courts for Karachi

Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah was briefed today by Chief Secretary Siddique Memon, Home Secretary Mukhtiar Soomro and Sindh Police Inspector General (IG) Ghulam Hyder Jamali.

The chief secretary also said that the Sindh government had recommended 74 cases for their trial in military courts, out of which the ministry of interior had approved only three cases.

"We have scrutinised 10 cases, out of which our legal committee has cleared eight cases which include the attack on Justice Maqbool Baqar, Nishter Park bombing, attack and murder of four policemen, attack on Gulistan-i-Jauhar police station, a sectarian murder in New Karachi and five other connected cases,” added Memon.

The chief minister directed the home secretary to scrutinise more cases as the Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif had ordered the establishment of additional military courts in Karachi.

Speaking about the performance of the Rangers from September 5, 2013 to August 17, 2015, the home secretary informed the chief minister that they have conducted 5,867 operations in which 10,438 arrests were made, including 498 terrorists.

Rangers have also neutralised 490 target killers, arrested 341 extortionists and freed 50 hostages from kidnappers. In addition, Rangers have neutralised 464 terrorists, while recovering 7,787 weapons and 349,854 rounds of ammunition, added Memon.

“We have also registered 1,023 cases in regards to hate speech,” remarked the chief secretary.

The chief minister was also informed that the number of seminaries in Sindh are being re-verified through the police’s special branch and the exercise would be completed in a week.

“We are also geo-tagging seminaries and we should complete the process in two weeks,” said Memon.

Also read: Military courts get Supreme Court nod

The chief minister also directed IG Jamali to strengthen police coordination with the Rangers and secret agencies in order to eliminate crime and terrorism from the metropolis.

Earlier this week, General Raheel Sharif approved an increase in the number of military courts for Karachi to handle outstanding terror cases.

General Sharif took the decision while chairing the security briefing at Corps V Headquarters. He was also briefed on the current security situation of the city.

A high-level apex committee meeting chaired by the Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on May 14, 2015 decided to implement effective policing and surveillance in the "vast suburbs of Karachi", to prevent what the military spokesperson said were "sneaking terrorist attacks".

At the meeting, Gen Sharif vowed to continue "across the board operations" at an increased pace and hunt down terrorists who commit heinous acts.

The ‘operation’ against criminal elements in Pakistan’s commercial hub was initiated back in September 2013 after the federal cabinet empowered Rangers to lead a targeted advance with the support of police against criminals already identified by federal military and civilian agencies for their alleged involvement in targeted killings, kidnappings for ransom, extortion and terrorism in Karachi.