KARACHI: The Sindh cabinet on Thursday approved a plan to procure military-grade weapons and surveillance equipment for police to launch a grand operation clean-up against dacoits in riverine area of the province.

The operation will be launched with the support of Pakistan Army and Rangers as well as the police of Punjab and Balochistan.

A meeting of the cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, also authorised Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon to contact with the police chiefs of Balochistan and Punjab so that a coordinated operation could be planned in the katcha areas.

The IGP informed the cabinet that purchase of military-grade weapons and surveillance equipment was approved by the 28th meeting of the Sindh Apex Committee.

The weapons and surveillance system was required to take on hardened criminal gangs operating in the riverine area of districts Kashmore, Shikarpur and Ghotki.

Powers to curb profiteering delegated to Bureau of Supply and Prices officials

The cabinet was told that funds amounting to Rs 2.79 billion were required for the procurement of the military-grade weapons. The cabinet approved the proposal of the operation and also sanctioned the required fund.

It directed the provincial home department to seek a no-objection certificate from the interior ministry for the purchase of the said weapons.

The cabinet decided to close the Coronavirus Emergency Fund, which was created on March 18, 2020.

The fund balance amounting to Rs35.73m would be spent on the construction of houses for the flood-affected people.

Price control powers

The cabinet also approved conferment of powers of inspector-prices to officials of the Bureau of Supply & Prices across the province to implement price control during Ramazan under the Sindh Essential Commodities Price Control and Prevention of Profiteering and Hoarding Act, 2005.

It was informed that the district administration had already been given powers and instructions to control the prices.

The cabinet also approved the appointment of Iqbal Detho as the chairman of the Sindh Human Rights Commission.

It granted an extension to Niaz Soomro as project director of the Malir Expressway till the completion of the project.

The cabinet also decided to appoint Aijaz Khanzada and Mohammad Arif Mithani as members of the drug courts.

It approved appointment of Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh as chairman of the Sindh Petroleum (Pvt) Ltd and Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro as the chairman of the Sindh Irrigation & Drainage Authority.

The finance department told the cabinet that the government had already upgraded 3,871 information technology-related posts. However, 3,264 posts of grade BPS-5 to BS-16 were still left over and the annual financial impact of the upgrade would be Rs243.7 million. The cabinet approved the proposal.

On a proposal of the health department, the cabinet decided to hand over District Headquarters (DHQ) Dadu to Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences (LUMHS), Jamshoro along with administrative and financial control.

The cabinet approved the release of funds amounting to Rs1.2bn to the hospital so that it could start properly functioning.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2023