It was decided during a meeting of the provincial apex committee on Wednesday that 28 terrorism-related cases will be forwarded to the military courts.

The committee, chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, discussed the issues related to prevalent street crimes, land grabbing and ghost employees in government departments, among others.

The meeting was attended by provincial ministers Nisar Khuhro, Sohail Anwar Siyal, Inspector General (IG) Sindh A.D. Khowaja Karachi Corps Commander Lt Gen Shahid Beg Mirza, Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon, Director General Rangers Maj Gen Mohammad Saeed, and other senior officials.

The committee was told that earlier the federal interior ministry had approved 10 cases to be tried before the military courts, following which the legal panel of the Sindh apex committee recommended another 28 cases. The committee, after approving the recommendations, has directed the home ministry to forward the cases to the military courts.

The anti-terrorism courts in the province have convicted 1,521 criminals since the National Action Plan was set in motion, of which death penalty was awarded to 94 while 562 convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment.

The street crime remained the most discussed topic of the meeting. Shah urged the members that a "concrete strategy" must be adopted to eliminate the menace of street crime from the province.

He agreed to include street crime in the apex committee's domain, and directed police and Rangers to initiate a targeted operation against groups involved in criminal activities.

The chief minister was informed that the SHC chief justice had been requested to transfer the cases of "high-profile" prisoners to Badin so that the government can shift them from Karachi.

Several inmates have been shifted from Karachi's Central Jail to other prisons across the province on account of the former being over-crowded. The move came after two Lashkar-i-Jhangvi militants escaped from the Central Jail in June.

During the meeting, the committee was informed that the IG Sindh has prepared a legislative draft regarding registration, construction and monitoring of seminaries, and it has been sent to departments of industries, education and Auqaf. The chief minister directed the provincial police chief to finalise the draft at the earliest so that it can be tabled before the provincial assembly.

Moreover, the home department also sought nominations from Pakistan Rangers, intelligence agencies and the IG Police for a committee that would be established to monitor the Karachi Safe City Project.