Murad starts his 3rd tenure with pledge to curb street crime, dacoits in katcha areaCM bans arms display, strobe

lights on vehicles KARACHI (Feb 28): On the first day of his third term in office, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah presiding over a meeting on law and order directed the police to improve the performance of the 22 police stations by concentrating on the hotspots in the city where the street crime rate was higher and ensure the revival of all the unfunctional check posts established in the katcha area to control kidnapping for ransom the Riverine area. “I want the strength of police stations must be increased from  12000 policemen to 24,000 across the 108 police stations in the city.” At the outset of the meeting, the chief minister said that the dacoits have established their sway in the Riverine areas of Larkana and Sukkur divisions. “I am not happy with the increasing trend of street crime and kidnapping for ransom in Larkana and Sukkur division,” he said and added that he wanted a targeted operation against drug mafia to eliminate them properly. The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Dr Fakhre Alam, Principal Secretary to CM Agha Wasif, DG Ranger Maj Gen Azhar Waqas, Home Secretary Iqbal Memon, IG Police Riffat Mukhtar, DIG Karachi Khadim Rind, Commissioner Karachi Saleem Rajput, DIGs Azfar Mahesar, Asad Raza, Asif  Qaimkhani, and others. Divisional Commissioners Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas, Larkana, and Shaheed Benazirabad attended the meeting through video link. Street Crime: IG Police Riffat Mukhtar giving a presentation to the CM said that during the last two months, 23 people were killed during robberies, 3953 mobiles were snatched, 46 four-wheelers and 1537 two-wheelers were snatched. To a question, the IG police told the CM that there were 22 police stations in which street crime was high. The CM directed the IG police to provide him with a list of 22 vulnerable police stations in terms of street crime and identify the hotspots so that special focus could be given to them.Murad Ali Shah directed the city police chief to get all his SSPs on the roads in the evening. He added that street crime mostly started after sunset, therefore police patrolling and the presence of the police on the roads must be ensured to control them. To a question, the CM was told that there were 108 police stations with a strength of 12000 policemen in Karachi. The CM said that Karachi has a strength of 48000 policemen but only 12,000 policemen have been deployed at 108 police stations which showed that each police station had 112 police men on average.Syed Murad Ali Shah directed the IG Police to rationalize the police force deployed in other units and raise the strength of police stations from 12000 to 24,000. IG Police told the CM that there were 25000 vacant posts of policemen in the province. At this, the CM directed him to start recruitment purely on merit. Traffic Police: The chief minister directed the IG police to strengthen the Traffic police, impart them with special training and ensure traffic management in the city. He said that he was aware that due to ongoing development works the issues of traffic congestion have cropped up but even then it could be managed for the convenience of the people.Fancy lights: The chief minister said that the police and other law enforcement agencies were authorised to use strobe lights and except for them, no vehicle would be allowed to use them. He directed the Traffic police to take action against the vehicles installed with strobe lights or fancy lights.Dacoits in riverine area: To a question the IG police told the CM that only 14 cases of kidnapping for ransom were outstanding. During the discussion, it was disclosed that a large number of people from other provinces have been kidnapped through the honey trap and have been kept in the katcha areas between Sindh and Punjab. The CM directed IG Police to work out a plan to start a crackdown in the katcha area.He said that he was waiting for the formation of a new government in Balochistan so that a joint strategy with Punjab and Balochistan could be developed to launch a joint operation. The CM directed the IG police to revive the police stations made unfunctional in the katcha. “I’ll visit the Katcha area and meet with the policemen deployed at the check posts at katcha area and hold a joint meeting of Police and Rangers there,” he said.  Ban against arms display: The chief minister directed IG police not to allow people to take their private guards openly displaying arms.Investigation: The chief minister said that he wanted to strengthen the investigation process. “Due to poor investigation, heinous criminals get bail and again go into their crime world,” he said and directed the IG Police to arrange his meeting with the police officers of the Investigation wing so that they could be guided and their issues could be resolved. He added that in that meeting prosecutors would also be called to develop teamwork to bring the criminals to book. Safe City: Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah issued a directive to immediately commence the Karachi Safe City project without any delay, citing the urgent need to address security threats and ensure the safety of the city. Additionally, he instructed DG Safe Cities Authorities Asif Aijaz Shaikh to initiate the remaining phases of the project, prioritizing the security and well-being of Karachi’s citizens. “This move comes in response to growing concerns about law and order in the city and aims at enhancing surveillance and response capabilities to ensure a safer and more secure environment for residents and businesses,” Murad Ali Shah said. Reconstruction of the police station: IG Police told the CM that 708 police stations, including 108 in Karachi were in dilapidated condition. He requested the chief minister to approve funds to get all the police stations repaired. The Chief Minister then and there directed Secretary Finance to release Rs2 billion to the police dept to repair and reconstruct police station buildings. He said that the police station buildings must be worth looking at and appropriately secured and all the buildings must have the same decent design.DG Rangers briefing: Director General Rangers, Sindh Maj Gen Azhar Waqas told the CM that they  [Ranger] were carrying out an intelligence-based targeted operation against the drug mafia, terrorists and street criminals. He said that the Rangers had been sent to the katcha area so that work on the Ghotki-Kandhkot bridge could be resumed. Home Secretary Iqbal Memon told the CM that the work on the bridge has been started, and police and Rangers have provided them with ample security.

Murad directs P&D, Finance dept to release reaming uplift budget of Rs397 bn for completion of development schemes

KARACHI (Feb 28): Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed the Finance and Planning & Development Board (P&D) to release the remaining funds of Rs397.4 billion to enable the timely completion of ongoing and new development projects, for the greater benefit of the public.
He issued these instructions while presiding over a meeting to review the financial position of the province and development expenditures. The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Dr Fakhre Alam, Principal Secretary to CM Agha Wasif, Chairman P&D Shakeel Mangnejo, Secretary Finance Kazim Jatoi and other concerned officers.
Chairman P&D Shakeel Magnejo told the chief minister that the development budget for the current financial year was Rs735.1 billion, including Provincial ADP of Rs385.5 billion, ongoing schemes of Rs292.1 billion, new schemes of Rs93.4 billion, District ADP Rs30 billion, foreign projects Rs226.7 billion and federal grants schemes of Rs52.9 billion.
The CM was told that against an allocated budget of Rs735.1 billion, the finance dept released Rs337.7 billion against which expenditures during the last seven months have been recorded at 263.8 billion. At this, the chief minister directed Chief Secretary Dr Fakhre Alam to direct all the departments to get their new schemes approved by DDWP so that their tenders could be issued.
Murad Ali Shah directed the Finance department to release the remaining funds ofRs397.4 billion so that the ongoing works could be completed, and new schemes be started.
Federal Receipts: During a briefing to the Chief Minister, Kazim Jatoi, the Secretary of Finance, reported that the federal government was scheduled to transfer Rs805 billion in Revenue Assignments, straight transfers, and OZT grants to the Sindh government over the first seven months of 2023-24. However, the government only released Rs731 billion, resulting in a shortfall of Rs74 billion. The Chief Minister noted that federal transfers to the Sindh government usually increase during the final months of the financial year.
To a question, the CM was told that in addition to Rs731 billion, the federal government has transferred Rs12 billion up to January 2024 as arrears against last year’s federal collections.
The Chief Minister was informed that the provincial revenue for the ongoing financial year 2023-24 was estimated at Rs. 469.9 billion. However, during the first seven months of the financial year, the total revenue was expected to be around Rs. 274.1 billion, but the actual revenue collected was Rs. 254.2 billion, resulting in a shortfall of Rs. 19.9 billion. The Chief Minister mentioned that the revenue increased in the final months of the fiscal year, indicating that the deficit would be resolved.