KARACHI: Rejecting the report of the Sindh Police and Rangers, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has directed that no-go areas in the city should be eliminated within seven days.
A five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry gave the direction during hearing of the Karachi law and order case at its registry here on Thursday.The Supreme Court directed the heads of the police and Rangers to work together and eliminate the no-go areas, adding that the life and property of the city’s residents should be protected.The apex court said that Sindh Chief Secretary was responsible for maintaining peace in the city.
Earlier during proceedings, the Chief Justice remarked that it seemed like the report regarding no-go areas in Karachi was not prepared seriously, adding that if the police claims there are no no-go areas in Karachi they should be held responsible for any murders that occur across the city.The Chief Justice further said that submitting such a report in the Supreme Court was equivalent to misleading the court, adding that if the police and Rangers decide to work seriously, law and order can be restored in Karachi.
The Apex Court rejected police reports regarding ‘no-go areas in Karachi’ saying they were identical in content.The bench observed that it appeared that the reports were authored by one person and ordered reports from all 112 police stations in the city to be submitted within 30 minutes’ time.During the previous hearing, top law enforcement officials who had failed to control criminal activities in the city were severely reprimanded.The officials had admitted before the apex court bench that their men lacked the ‘will’ to combat the growing number of militants and gangsters in the city. This was on account of sluggish follow-up of cases of their colleagues who had been killed by criminals. – DailyTimes
