KARACHI: An alarming rise in fatalities in traffic accidents involving heavy vehicles caught the attention of Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday, prompting him to direct the Sindh government to take all-out measures to curb such incidents.

The directives came at a high-level meeting Mr Bhutto-Zardari chaired here at the Chief Minister House to review the overall security situation in the province against the backdrop of the terrorist attack on the Jaffar Express in Balochistan.

The meeting was focused on the police operation against bandits in the Katcha area, the progress of the Safe City project in Karachi, road accidents in the provincial capital and law enforcement agencies performance in managing overall law and order situation in Sindh.

Reviews progress on Safe City Project, operation against dacoit gangs in riverine area

A statement issued by the CM House after the meeting said that the PPP chairman called the meeting to get an update on law and order in Sindh.

The meeting held at CM House was attended by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, Minister of Agriculture Muhammad Bakhsh Mahar, Home Minister Zia Lanjar and others.

The PPP chairman emphasised the need for maintaining law and order and ensuring protection to people’s lives and property, which was the responsibility of the Sindh government.

He stressed that road accidents in Karachi must be prevented at all costs. He also asked the Sindh government to further strengthen its ongoing anti-drug operations.

The Sindh chief minister briefed Mr Bhutto-Zardari on the law and order situation.

“We have successfully controlled kidnapping for ransom in several districts of northern Sindh,” the statement quoted the CM as saying while referring to areas of Sukkur, Ghotki, Kashmore, and Shikarpur.

The chief minister claimed that improvements were achieved with continued efforts by enhancing law enforcement. However, the PPP chairman issued directives that the police must accelerate operation against dacoits.

The PPP chairman reiterated the government’s stance on crimes, saying that there was a zero tolerance for kidnapping for ransom and other heinous crimes.

He also asked the Sindh government to formulate a policy on distributing state land in the riverine area among local women and providing ownership rights to the local population.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari also reaffirmed the PPP’s policy of zero tolerance towards any form of violence against minorities, women, and children.

IG’s statistics on crimes

The Sindh IG briefed the meeting on the performance of law enforcement in the northern districts of Sindh from March 2024 to March 2025.

The statistics revealed that 87 dacoits were killed, and 298 were injured. Five wanted dacoits were killed, and 12 were arrested. The police also rescued 534 kidnapping victims, said the statement citing the Sindh IG briefing.

The PPP chairman called for the strengthening of the police’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), which had “conducted 2,225 intelligence-based operations, arrested 208 terrorists and killed four”.

The CM Shah informed the meeting participants that the government had allocated direct budgets to police stations and provided Rs6 billion this year to improve their operations.

Home Minister Zia Lanjar provided an update on highway security, stating that 200 police personnel were now patrolling highways with 100 vehicles.

Additionally, the Sindh police had started highway patrolling as part of a broader security initiative.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari called for accelerating the pace of work on the Karachi Safe City Project.

The CM said the project was progressing and that 1,300 CCTV cameras were being installed at a cost of Rs6.62 billion. The first phase will cover high-risk areas such as the “red zone” and the airport corridor. The CCTV cameras being installed will feature facial recognition and vehicle number plate identification capabilities, significantly enhancing security monitoring, added the statement.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2025