KARACHI: The Sindh police have increased by multiple times funds allocation for investigation into high-profile cases of targeted killings, bomb blasts, suicide attacks and anti-state activities, sources and officials confirmed to Dawn on Wednesday.

Unlike past when merely Rs20,000 was set aside for each such offence, the police investigators would be allow to use up to half a million rupees to probe each high-profile case.

The sources said that implementation of new rules had been initiated with an aim to improve performance of police investigators within the shortest possible time to achieve results in high-profile cases. Before this move, they said, the police investigators always had excuses such as lack of resources and funds to leave the cases unsolved.

“Before the implementation of the new rules, an investigating officer was allowed to spend up to Rs20,000 for each case of extortion, kidnapping for ransom, murder and gang rape as well as those related to targeted killings, bomb blasts, suicide attacks and even anti-state activities,” said an official.

“Now an investigating officer can utilise up to Rs100,000 for each case of kidnapping for ransom, rape and murder and up to half a million rupees for high-profile cases like anti-state activities, targeted killings, blasts and suicide bombing.”

He said many people could argue that the fund was still not enough for the investigation into cases of kidnapping for ransom, rape and murder. “Let me tell you that it’s a beginning and the funds may further rise with the passage of time,” he added.

The official further said: “It has been decided that cases like target killing, bomb blast, suicide attack and anti-state activities will be solved on a priority basis. And for that all available resources of the law-enforcement will be made use of.”

The Sindh government for the year 2016-17 enhanced budget for security from Rs64.4 billion to Rs82.3 billion which included police, jails, the Rangers and other security agencies. The fresh move to enhance investigation funds for key cases, the officials said, was part of the overall reforms in the law-enforcement agency envisaged by the relevant authorities.

He said it was a known fact that complainants and aggrieved parties had to pay from their pockets to police to pursue investigation of their case. Police were often blamed for demanding financial support or kind of bribe to investigate cases. The official agreed that police investigators exploited such shortcomings and that had to be ignored by the high-ups due to shortage of funds or resources.

However, the sources said, despite the long-awaited move to enhance investigation funds for key cases, the law-enforcement agency was yet to have a mechanism in place to put check on the past malpractices.

Published in Dawn October 27th, 2016