Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed the provincial police department to launch a “decisive and result-oriented” operation targeted against street criminals and their supporters.

The chief minister issued the directive while presiding over a meeting to review the security situation in the metropolis with a particular focus on street crimes.

“This must be decisive and result oriented,” he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the chief minister’s spokesperson.

The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon, IG Sindh AD Khowaja, Additional IG Karachi Mushtaq Maher, Additional IG CTD Sanaullah Abbasi, Principal Secretary to CM Naveed Kamran Baloch, Home Secretary Shakeel Mangnijo, Commissioner Karachi Aijaz Ali Khan, CPLC Chief Zubair Habib, DIG Traffic Asif Aijaz Shaikh and others.

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The chief minister, in his opening remarks, said he was not happy with the facts and figures regarding street crime presented in a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

“I have convened this follow up meeting to review the rate of street crime and devise a pragmatic strategy to crush street criminals,” he said.

Additional IG Karachi Mushtaq Maher apprised the meeting that “13 police stations are most affected in terms of mobile snatching, four- and two-wheeler theft and snatching.”

“In 2016, 1,548 street criminals were arrested and booked, of which 14 were convicted and three acquitted. Presently 1,082 are in jail and 449 have been released on bail,” he added.

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IG AD Khowaja, while drawing a link between street crimes and narcotic addiction, noted that, “These criminals mostly come from slums.”

He informed the chief minister that the sanctioned strength for Karachi police is 39,589 personnel, but the current working strength is 27,389 personnel, which shows a shortfall of 12,200 police officials.

On this, Shah allowed the Sindh IG to initiate a recruitment process based on merit. He said that there were “some administrative issues [in the police department] which must be addressed properly”.

The chief minister also reiterated that the IG develop close coordination in various wings of the police and start a “vigorous targeted operation against street criminals”.

“The operation must be properly worked out, focused and it should also crush the drug and land mafias,” he concluded.