KARACHI: Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar said that 1,15,500 policemen had been assigned to perform security duty during the general elections scheduled for Feb 8.

These police officers will be responsible for maintaining the law and order on 191 seats, including 61 of the National Assembly and 130 of provincial assembly.

This he said while responding to the questions asked by the participants of the PN Staff Course of Pakistan Navy War College who called on him here at the CM House. The delegation was led by Commandant Navy War College Rear Admiral Azhar Mehmood.

The meeting was attended by provincial ministers, including Brig (r ) Haris Nawaz, Mubeen Jumani, Omar Soomro and Ahmad Shah, Chief Secretary Dr Fakhre Alam, Planning and Development (P&D) Chairman Shakil Mangejo, IG Police Riffat Mukhtar and provincial secretaries.

In reply to a question, the CM stated that treatment plants were being installed to release treated waste and industrial water into the sea, which would help control pollution in the seawater.

Additionally, he said, the Sindh government had planted one million mangrove plants in the sea.

Mangroves are a natural infrastructure that helps protect nearby populated areas by reducing sea erosion and absorbing storm surge impacts during extreme weather events such as hurricanes. They are also important to the ecosystem due to their dense roots, which help bind and build soils.

Answering another question, the CM said his government had initiated several schemes to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

During a presentation to the staff course, IG Police Riffat Mukhtar told the participants that there were four major heads of crime in the katcha area such as kidnapping for ransom through honey-trapping and forced kidnapping, highway robberies, tribal feuds and smuggling.

During 2023, 261 persons had been kidnapped, all of them had been freed from the clutches of dacoits.

The police were taking strict measures to control the crime of kidnapping for ransom.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2024