KARACHI: The Sindh police on Tuesday decided to review the list under the Fourth Schedule after every three months in order to strengthen proactive policing against extremism, ensure stronger surveillance of the suspects placed on the list and for better coordinated intelligence at the police-station level across the province, officials and sources said.

The point to enhance the Fourth Schedule-related efforts emerged during a meeting chaired by Sindh IG A.D. Khowaja at the Central Police Office held to review the law and order situation as well as measures pertaining to the implementation of the National Action Plan.

Among other measures and steps, a statement issued after the meeting by the CPO said that the Sindh IG also directed the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and the Special Branch of the law-enforcement agency to review the Fourth Schedule after every quarter.

“The Additional DIGs of CTD and Special Branch were asked to review the Fourth Schedule list and review it in detail after every three months,” said the statement.

“He also directed the officers concerned to ensure the implementation of the Fourth Schedule list at the police-station level and the relevant DIGs must be kept abreast of the development and maintenance of the list. Any negligence in this regard would not be tolerated.”

The Fourth Schedule is a section of the Anti-Terrorism Act under which someone who is suspected of terrorism is kept under observation; it is mandatory for him or her to register his or her attendance with the local police regularly.

Also, the Fourth Schedule includes elements found to be or suspected to be involved in anti-state activities, delivering hate speeches and/or activists of religious outfits not yet banned but related to militancy in some way.

Last year, the Sindh home department under Section 11-EEE (2)(f) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 mandated powers to the Sindh police’s CTD to monitor and oversee the activities of the persons whose names had been included in the list under the Fourth Schedule of the ATA, 1997.

The recent move to monitor the list after every quarter, the sources said, was part of the Sindh police’s aggressive approach against growing extremism in the province and to keep a strict eye on individuals who could be the source of such threats. The meeting also took up other issues related to extremism and the Sindh IG sought immediate results in certain areas.

“IG Khowaja directed that distribution of hate literature in the province should be strictly stopped and stern action be taken against those involved in this. He also called for implementation of the Loudspeaker Act in its true spirit,” said the CPO statement.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2017