KARACHI: The director general of Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, Maj-Gen Rizwan Akhtar, said on Wednesday that the paramilitary force was not enjoying the powers it needed to maintain a durable peace in Karachi.

“Actually the powers announced and promised for Rangers have not yet been transferred. These all are still on paper,” the Rangers chief told reporters after inaugurating the ‘command and control centre’ — a 24-hour surveillance project through closed-circuit television cameras — at the Federal B. Area Association of Industry. “We should tell people the truth.”

“The extra powers for Rangers were announced after the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Karachi suo motu proceedings case in August 2011 but they have not been devolved. We still have limited rights to carry out raids, checks and make arrests. We are still bound to hand over every suspect to police after the arrest,” he said.

Maj-Gen Akhtar was certain about the possibility of having a sustainable peace in Karachi. However, he linked that decades-old desire of every Karachiite to enhanced resources for law-enforcement agencies, cooperation from the people and, above all, key measures from the authorities concerned.

He said the city faced multiple problems and they could be solved only through comprehensive planning and consistent efforts with the contribution of every single institution concerned.

He cited the issue of growing slums in the city, unchecked expansion of population, unsupervised settlements of illegal immigrants, extremely organised land mafia, business of illegal water selling and smuggling of goods as some of the major problems.

“That all add up to ultimately affect peace in Karachi. There is a need of due deliberation to address these issues. We can’t keep checks on exit and entry points of the city but still we do with whatever resources available to address this particular area,” he said. “There are 10 check posts near and along the Hub river to keep an eye on (suspicious) movement but all the posts are unmanned. We keep patrolling the areas but can’t cope with limited resources. There is a need for round-the-clock surveillance of three key routes — the National Highway, Superhighway and Hub.”

When asked about a low conviction rate despite consistent arrests by Rangers and police during the ongoing targeted operation in Karachi, the Rangers DG explained reasons behind the low conviction which he said was ultimately affecting the peace efforts negatively.

He said that the people were present whenever a crime was committed or a targeted killing carried out. The law enforcers managed to arrest the culprits, but it was the people who despite witnessing a crime did not come forward to testify against the criminals, who eventually were released. “So there is a need to protect the witnesses and at the same time cooperation from the people so that they could trust the police and Rangers,” he added.

He defended the performance of the Rangers despite their ‘limited powers and resources’.

He did not agree to singling out of Lyari area as the only strife-hit locality in the city.

“The Rangers have been here for more than two decades. They have 14 wings in the city with 550 personnel in each wing who include drivers, chefs and others engaged in administrative jobs. So the resources are the same but challenges and tasks have increased multiple times,” he said.

“But still we are giving more than 100 per cent for a stable and lasting peace in the city. You can’t isolate one area from the city. It’s not only Lyari as we need to look into Karachi as one unit for stability, which is very much possible with consistent efforts and comprehensive policies.”