- Subzwari calls on Federal Interior Minister to visit city, summon Sindh Chief Minister
KARACHI: The rising street crimes in Karachi are not possible without police acting as accomplices, which also exposes the PPP government’s purported failure in Sindh to rein in criminals from Karachi to Kashmore, said MQM-P leader Faisal Subzwari who also asked why the federal government wasn’t taking notice of the alarming situation.
“No action is being taken against armed gangs and dacoits in Kashmore or against street crime in Karachi,” Subzwari said while addressing a press conference along with other leaders of the party.
He called on Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to visit the city and summon Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
Regretting the fact that nothing is being done to check the alarming rise in street crime in the port city, he said most of the criminals at the end had always been found to be from the police, blasting the PPP government over the killing of dozens of people by criminals during robberies.
Subzwari censured the Sindh home minister over his comments in which he had blamed media for disproportional coverage of crimes in Karachi. He must speak only after thinking properly, otherwise, remaining silent was the best option.
The MQM-P leader said how it was possible that the police didn’t receive a share from the criminals snatching mobile phones from citizens when they had been getting money from those involved in illegal business of Iranian oil and goods meant for Afghan transit trade.
Subzwari announced that they would formed neighbourhood committees to keep an eye on the illegal activities and criminal elements. The provincial government had failed miserably to protect the lives and property of people, he noted.
“Is it conceivable that police checkpoints are not present at all entry and exit points of the city? Of course they are. Then is it conceivable that the market for stolen phones in the city runs without the patronage of the police?” he asked.
He said mobile phones worth billions of rupees are stolen in the city every year. He wondered if it was possible to believe that the police were not involved.
Turning his guns on Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, he said the minister should fix his “attitude” and “open his eyes and ears before opening his mouth”.
In a recent press conference, Lanjar said that the law and order situation in Karachi was currently much better than what it used to be in the previous years, adding that a “hype” had been created over the issue of street crime in the city.
“If you do not respect Karachiites’ lives and property, then we surely do. We will ask you questions, in the [Sindh] Assembly and outside of it too.
“You have a heavy responsibility […] now you are not the coordinator of a political person. You are not just a member of the Sindh Assembly. You are the home minister of the entire province,” Subzwari said.
He said that if Lanjar was unaware about the state of affairs, then Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah should know. “Summon law enforcement agencies, form a system,” he said.
The law and order has gone from bad to worse not just in Karachi but also the entire province, he added – a clear reference to the dacoits operating freely in the Katcha area located along Indus River in upper Sindh.
Subzwari also mentioned that the mobile phones and bikes snatched or stolen in Karachi were not “airlifted” to other parts of the country. The goods were transported by road, he said and questioned how and why the police were no able to confiscate the same.
He called on the Sindh High Court (SHC) chief justice to take notice of the lawlessness. He further said that street crime was an “industry”, and urged the SHC chief justice to take this matter up in court. “Call all institutions and ask what is happening, how it is happening and who is making it happen,” he said.
MQM-P leader Khawaja Izharul Hassan said the party is constantly raising its voice regarding the situation in Karachi. Talking about the appointment of the Sindh inspector general, he alleged that the provincial government had “blackmailed” the PML-N in order to appoint someone of their choosing.
“They [dacoits] have been given the licence to kill after the appointment of the Sindh IG, the home minister and the chief minister,” he said. “People are angry and are resisting now — they are not scared, they are fighting with the dacoits and losing their lives,” he said.
‘MQM-P aiding criminals by making police controversial’
Reacting to the MQM-P press conference, Sindh Home Minister Lanjar declared that establishing peace and order in the province was the provincial government’s priority.
In a statement, he said that the PPP was trying to eliminate dacoits from the province, adding that the government had faith in police and law enforcement agencies.
He said that police personnel had also sacrificed their lives while establishing peace in the province. He said that the MQM-P was aiding criminals by making the police force “controversial”.
Lanjar said that the Sindh police chief was an officer with a “good reputation”, adding that all institutions were serious regarding establishing peace in the province.
“The MQM should note that the thieves and robbers have no ethnicity, they are only robbers in our eyes,” he said, adding that the government would deal with the people playing with the lives of innocent citizens.
