BADIN: Visibly vexed over delay in the appointment of a new provincial police chief, Sindh Minister for Home Suhail Anwer Siyal said the federal government should immediately act upon Sindh government’s advice to post Sardar Abdul Majeed Dasti as new Inspector General of Police replacing incumbent A.D. Khowaja.

He said that he did not know if the federal government still harboured any desire to retain Mr Khowaja.

The provincial government was waiting for a go-ahead as the ball was now lying in the centre’s court, said Mr Siyal while talking to journalists in Rahuki, 50 kilometres from here, on Monday.

The minister visited the area to review security arrangements for a public meeting to be held on Wednesday to mark the 31st death anniversary of slain peasant leader Mohammad Fazil Rahu.

Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and other PPP leaders would also address the gathering.

Mr Siyal said in answer to a question about ‘mysterious’ death of senior leader of MQM-London Dr Zafar Hassan Arif that thus far there were two versions about his death.

“According to Dr Seemi Jamali his body bore no visible torture marks when it was brought to the JPMC. Nevertheless, other possibilities cannot be ruled out in the high-profile case,” he said.

He said the Sindh government had formed a team on the directives of PPP chairman to probe the death from all possible angles.

He said that progress on the probe would be shared with media and hoped police would solve soon the mysterious death of the senior politician.

Nefarious designs by a handful of miscreants to create lawlessness in the city would be dealt with iron hands, he warned.

He said that some miscreants whose days were already numbered were bent on disrupting peace in Karachi which had been restored after great sacrifices by law-enforcement agencies.

LEAs and police were inflicting heavy losses on the miscreants by carrying out successful operations against their hideouts, he said.

About the murder last night of a teenage boy in Karachi, the minister said that six personnel of Anti-Car Lifting Cell had been arrested in the murder case of Intizar Ahmed, who was gunned down just hours after his arrival from Malaysia.

Justice would be administered to the aggrieved family if the arrested cops were found guilty of the crime, he said.

Mr Siyal said that overall law and order situation in the province was better. He was in constant touch with Thar police in connection with the murder of two trader brothers, Dileep and Chandar Maheshwari, who were gunned down by unknown armed men during a robbery bid in Mithi town on Jan 5, he said.

He dismissed threats to PPP from electoral alliances and termed them spent bullets and rejected elements.

It was the PPP government, which had restored peace in the province and the party was ready to sweep next general elections on the basis of its performance, he said.

Mohammad Ismail Rahu, Moh­am­mad Aslam Rahu and other PPP leaders were present on the occasion.

Our Mirpurkhas correspondent adds: Mr Siyal told journalists after expressing condolence to MPA Mir Muhammad Hayat Talpur over the death of his grandson Mir Ansar Talpur, chairman of Digri town committee, that killers of two trader brothers of Mithi town would be arrested soon.

He justified delay in the arrest of culprits by saying that police wanted to arrest the real killers and not innocent persons.

The suspects involved in kidnapping of children should be awarded exemplary punishment, he said.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2018