KARACHI: The Sindh apex committee decided on Thursday to speed up the ongoing operation against criminals in the city and to continue it without any discrimination on political, religious, ethnic or sectarian considerations.

It also decided that appointments and postings of officials in Karachi and rest of the province would be made only on the basis of merit for the sake of long-term stability in government departments.

The meeting decided to block all channels of terrorism funding through coordination among the institutions concerned, establish a surveillance/monitoring system in Karachi, tighten checks at the entry and exit points of the city and hold weekly apex committee meetings.

The meeting was held at the Corps Headquarters, according to the Inter Services Public Relations. It was attended by Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Director General of the Inter Services Intelligence Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar, Karachi Corps Commander Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar, DG Rangers Maj Gen Bilal Akbar, Chief Secretary Siddique Memon and IG Ghulam Haider Jamali.

The meeting reviewed the progress of the operation and worked out a plan to arrest the perpetrators of Wednesday’s carnage.

Law-enforcement agencies will strengthen patrolling and intelligence network in Karachi’s suburbs and take action against criminals and terrorists. The meeting also resolved to introduce community policing.

The military and civilian leaders directed intelligence agencies to work in close coordination with each other. The committee will constitute a sub-committee to ensure more effective coordination among the institutions and success of intelligence-based operations.

The meeting decided to keep an eye on elements providing funds to terrorists and take action against them.

POLICE PACKAGE: Chief Minis­ter Qaim Ali Shah raised the issue of Rs3.4 billion police package promised by the prime minister at the time of the launching of the operation and said the commitment had not been fulfilled so far, a press release said.

The army chief assured the chief minister that all equipment, including APCs, would be provided in a mo­nth and urged the Sindh government to prepare a list of required items.

Mr Shah said the provincial government was meeting the financial needs of the operation from its own “meagre” resources. The Sindh government would focus on development projects and social sector if the federal government shard 40 per cent of the operation’s expenses, he said.

The army chief assured him that he would take up the matter with the prime minister and get the grievances addressed.

Gen Sharif approved the establishment of a counter-terrorism office at 5 Corps Headquarter with an intelligence-sharing cell.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2015

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