Rangers seek extended policing powers for drawn-out operation

Pakistan

Rangers seek extended policing powers for drawn-out operation

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DG Rangers Sindh has demanded policing rights for long-term Karachi operation.

06 September,2011 08:30 pm

In a statement, Major General Ijaz Chaudhry said it required a long operation to restore peace in Karachi, therefore the Rangers be given the policing powers.The Director General on Tuesday demanded the government extend the tenure of paramilitary troops powers for a durable peace in Karachi.In light of the escalated target killings in Karachi, the Sindh government gave an extension to the Rangers policing powers last month under Section 5 of the Anti-Terrorists Act, 1997. The powers have been extended after every three months since January 2010.The force has been authorised to eradicate no-go areas in the city amid powers to conduct snap checking without any warrants. The Rangers has powers to take any kind of action against target killers and extortion mafia to curb the ongoing violence.Rangers have been instrumental in restoring normalcy in the areas of Karachi following tangling between various political parties. According to an estimate, over 130 people have been killed in Karachi in the last few weeks.Major General Ijaz Chaudhry was recently restored as DG Rangers Sindh. Agencies add: Director General Sindh Rangers Maj Gen Ijaz Chaudhry has said that the external element cannot be ruled out in the present poor law and order situation in Karachi.Addressing a press conference at the Sindh Rangers headquarters on Tuesday, Gen Ijaz said the fact that one of the nabbed terrorists Ajmal Pahari has admitted receiving training from the Indian agents is a clear evidence of the foreign elements involved in sabotaging peace of the city.“If the government keeps entrusting Rangers with the powers they have at present, they would continue operation against criminal elements with full force and would eliminate them from the city,” assured Maj Gen Ijaz Chaudhry. Because of the Rangers’ effective operation, incidents of violence have declined considerably, said the chief of the Rangers but at the same time he warned that the criminal elements could revive their activities. He made it clear that the Rangers were conducting anti-criminal operation carefully and the residents of the city need not worry about that. The DG Rangers, to queries of journalists, said he could not go into details. However, he said the situation in Karachi was clear as everyone knew where the weapons were being imported from and who were using them. He said one of the reasons behind the delay in crackdown against criminals was because the insurgents had gone underground. He admitted that the operation was a temporary measure and a permanent strategy was required for elimination of criminal elements from the city. He assured that an indiscriminate