KARACHI: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Monday assured Sindh Government that the Federal Government will extend all possible support to it for achieving common objectives of ensuring peace and security in the province especially Karachi and of good governance for country’s economic prosperity and development.
He underlined the need for close interaction between Sindh Government and the Federal Government at information/intelligence and administrative levels, building of mutual confidence and for coordinated efforts so that common targets of the province and the centre of serving the masses are achieved and the promises made with the people can be fulfilled.
“We, both the parties, would have put our political agenda aside. We should be honest to each other. This is not the time to do politics but to work together like one party for betterment of the country and the people,” he asserted.The Interior Minister was presiding over a meeting on law and order in the province especially in Karachi with focus on Lyari situation along with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah here at the Chief Minister House.
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, Sindh Chief Secretary Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Director General Rangers, Sindh, Maj. General Rizwan Akhtar, Inspector General Sindh Police, Shahid Nadeem Baloch and other senior officers from law enforcing agencies were present.Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan also assured institutional and logistic support to the law enforcing agencies engaged in maintaining peace and security in Sindh mainly the metropolis Karachi.
He said both PPP and PML-N leadership would have to be careful as certain elements were busy in creating mis-understanding/ problems between PPP Government in Sindh and the Federal Government led by PML-N.He categorically rejected and termed as false the earlier media reports suggesting that the Interior Minister had given one month’s ultimatum to Sindh Government and hinted at imposition of Governor rule there.“I never uttered such words. In future as well, you would not listen to any such remarks or comments from me. I am Interior Minister and my job is to coordinate things between the provinces and the Centre,” he added.
Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who is also a senior leader of PML-N, assured that his party leadership and the government wanted best possible cooperation, coordination and interaction with all the provincial governments to bring a change in life of the commonman.He said Sindh is an extremely sensitive province. It has seaports and has a metropolis having millions of population with diversity. This all demands coordinated efforts and partnership for the good of the people and the country.
The country is facing serious problems like terrorism, extremism and energy shortfall and Sindh would have to play a leading role in this regard, the Minister said.He informed the meeting that Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was scheduled to visit Sindh soon and would have a meeting with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah to further the programme of social and economic uplift in Sindh province which ultimately would contribute to the country’s prosperity and development.
However, he suggested that before the Prime Minister’s visit to Sindh, one meeting on law and order in Sindh should be held in Islamabad with the Premier in chair and to be attended by the Sindh Chief Minister, the Interior Minister and other concerned authorities from the province and the federation.He said the issue of Karachi is politico-administrative. Both the parties would have to be on the same page. If political will is there and consensus/ confidence is built between Sindh and Federal Governments, a half of the job will be done, he articulated.
He urged the law enforcing agencies’ officers to tackle the issues without fear and favour.“You are servants of the State, not of any political party or a government,” he remarked.He paid tribute to the law enforcing agencies fighting for peace and security especially in Karachi. However, he noted, there are some gaps which would be bridged by improving environment and extending intelligence and equipment support to them by the province and the federal governments.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that in one-on-one meeting with the Chief Minister before this meeting on law and order, he had very meaningful discussion with the CM on various issues of mutual interest and assured that he would be visiting here now and again to promote partnership between Sindh and the Federal Governments.Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Shah said there is a third force behind Lyari issue/situation. Kachhi community which is in majority there, Balochs, Pashtoons, Mianwalis and other communities have been living there peacefully since long. It is only for last couple of years that law and order problem has been created.
Lyari has always been a strong-hold of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and in last general elections also PPP had swept there, he said.The Chief Minister said that he had constituted a five-member ministerial committee to deal with the issue of migration of Kachhi community from Lyari. They are in contact with Kachhis and 80 % of them have returned to their homes.He said the police and rangers are doing their best to maintain law and order. They have succeeded in controlling target killings, extortion and kidnapping for ransom to a great extent.
However, he said, there are certain problems being faced by the law enforcing agencies and they need intelligence and logistic support.Sindh Chief Secretary Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Director General Rangers, Sindh Major General Rizwan Akhtar, Sindh Inspector General Police Shahid Nadeem Baloch briefed Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan about the law and order situation in Sindh especially in Karachi. – APP
