ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan wrote on Tuesday a letter to the Sindh chief minister, asking him to extend the policing powers of Rangers in the province.

“Unnecessary delay in extension of power to Rangers in Sindh will not only disrupt operation against terrorists but also negatively impact the morale and performance of the civil armed forces,” the minister said.

The policing powers of the paramilitary force in Sindh, last extended on May 4 for 77 days, expire on Thursday.

The deployment of Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, in Karachi is requisitioned under Article 147 of the Constitution and Clause 1 of Sub-section 3 of Section 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, authorising the paramilitary force to prevent the commission of terrorist acts or scheduled offences in the notified area for the punishment of terrorists in accordance with the provision of the ATA, 1997.

Called in 1989 to assist police in Karachi by the then Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government to curb rising political violence, Rangers started enjoying policing powers a few years ago amid increasing number of killings on sectarian, political and ethnic grounds in the city. In his letter, Chaudhry Nisar said it was a common responsibility of both the federal and provincial governments to remove hurdles and complete the process that started after mutual consensus. He said Rangers had played a vital role in improving the law and order situation and restoring routine life to Sindh, especially Karachi.

He asked the chief minister to use his authority to extend Rangers’ powers in Sindh.

In a related development, Sindh Rangers Director General Maj Gen Bilal Akbar telephoned the interior minister on Tuesday and discussed with him the issue of the delay in issuance of a notification for the extension of the paramilitary force’s special powers. According to an official statement issued after the telephonic conversation, the interior minister said the decision about deployment of Rangers in Sindh and operation in Karachi had been taken after consultations with all stakeholders, including the federal and provincial governments, as well as clear directives of the Supreme Court.

He said the federal government would continue to play its legal and constitutional role regarding extension of Rangers’ powers in Sindh.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2016