KARACHI: Police authorities have decided to launch an “effective crackdown” against “illegal immigrants” residing across Sindh and to appoint a deputy superintendent of police (security) in each district to monitor and ensure security arrangements at all shrines, worship places and vital installations.

These decisions were taken at a meeting, which was chaired by inspector general of police A.D. Khowaja, at his office on Monday.

The meeting reviewed law and order in the province and the police chief issued directions to the force to remain “extremely alert” to ensure security in the wake of the recent acts of terrorism.

Sources privy to the meeting told Dawn that the IG police, while referring to the killing of nearly 90 people in the blast at the shrine of Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, observed that such huge loss of lives could have been prevented if some more policemen had been deployed there and they had performed their duty with alertness.

The police chief directed the SSPs to come out of their offices and monitor security situation on the ground. IG Khowaja directed the station house officers (SHOs) to conduct security checks in their respective areas for three hours on a daily basis and asked the SSPs to personally monitor such security steps.

The IG warned the senior officers that if they were found involved in any misconduct, he would be compelled to send such report of misconduct to the higher authorities, the sources added.

The police chief also directed the officers concerned that a DSP (security) be appointed in each district to monitor security arrangements at mosques, Imambargahs, seminaries, shrines, graveyards, important government institutions, sensitive installations, railway stations, bus terminals and academic institutes in their areas, according to an official statement.

The proposed DSP (security) would be entitled to issuing necessary directions to the SHOs concerned for strict monitoring of security steps.

Besides patrolling and random spot checks, concrete and coordinated security steps must be taken on Thursdays and Fridays to protect the life of innocent people, the police chief said. The deployment of policemen near worship places and shrines must be ensured, he added.

“Crackdown against illegal immigrants should be further strengthened at provincial level and report to this effect should be sent to [my] office on a daily basis,” he said.

The IG police directed the additional IG (special branch) to chalk out a policy for guest houses and hotels for their strict monitoring, while all laws pertaining to the Fourth Schedule list should be implemented in an effective and coordinated way.

About public-friendly initiatives at the police level, the IG told officers to ensure functioning of all ‘police reporting centres’ at the police-station level from June so that the people’s legitimate grievances could be addressed.

He said that the issue of payment of salary of newly recruited policemen should be addressed at the earliest and if there was any problem to this effect, the same should be brought to his notice, otherwise, the supervising officer concerned would be held accountable.

The IG said that the police were facing financial constraints but the force would have to identify anti-social elements and take them to task.

Additional IG Mushtaq Ahmed Mahar, Additional IG (Counter-Terrorism Department/special branch) Dr Sanaullah Abbasi, DIGs of Sukkur, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Larkana and Shaheed Benazirabad, DIGs of all Karachi zones and other senior officers attended the meeting.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2017