KARACHI: Additional Inspector General Imran Yaqub Minhas has stressed that the sale of second-hand mobile phones accessories has to be brought into a regulatory framework.
It would help in dealing with the most serious issue of rising street crimes as the accessories and spare parts of all the snatched phones were being disposed of by selling them in the local markets, he added.
“The street crimes would only reduce when a regulatory framework for sale of second-hand mobile phones’ spare parts is in place otherwise it would remain a challenge and we may reach at the verge of disaster in terms of street crimes,” he added while exchanging views at a meeting during his visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
Karachi Police Chief, while terming the social media as a ‘menace and a curse’, stated that a huge portion of the content revolving in the social media was based on unauthenticated reporting which was playing with public’s nerves hence, it also needs to be regulated.
“I appeal the business community of Karachi Chamber to raise a strong voice for regulating all the social media sites and apps”, he said, adding that the social media sites which build the perception about Karachi and Pakistan must be brought into a legal framework.
He admitted that robberies were taking place in Defense area where three gangs were operational, of which one gang has been nabbed and its coordinators have also been identified.
“Serious efforts were underway and strategies have been adopted to control crime hence, the situation in DHA is likely to improve in the next few days,” he added.
To drastically improve the law & order situation of Karachi, AIG stressed the need for an effective surveillance system in the city otherwise the crimes will never stop.
“Enhancing the number of police officers would not yield results so we have to adopt scientific and technological practices being used all around the world for effectively controlling street crimes,” he added.
He said that due to lack of proper planning, the city is collapsing and it was a matter of grave that there was no expansion plan for Karachi which has been missing since many decades. The city is turning into an ocean of concrete with undocumented and uncontrolled population. The city has to be reframed in a planned way otherwise it will become prey to its own serious issues, he added.
He said: “We are facing another serious challenge within the department i.e., criminalization of police force and we are fighting really hard with that challenge which is not less than confronting the ocean’s waves.”
Imran Minhas also assured to look into the possibility of nominating a focal person exclusively for Karachi Chamber.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman BMG Zubair Motiwala, while expressing deep concerns over deteriorating law and order situation of Karachi city, pointed out that in addition to infinite incidents of street crimes taking places all over the city, 26 robberies happened in Defense area alone whereas 17.5 percent rise was witnessed in murder cases, car snatching escalated by 67 percent, gang rape incidents upsurged by 130 percent and 100 percent increase was recorded in murder while resisting a dacoity and bank robberies.
Urging the lawmakers to stop step-motherly treatment with Karachi, he stressed that the law & order situation of this city has to be given special attention and an effective strategy has to be devised on war footing otherwise, the situation would worsen further and the city will be plunged to a point of no return.
“Law & order issue was linked with poor economic performance as it has been observed that the economic and business activities were shrinking and joblessness was rising therefore, many people were landing up in the world of crime to fulfil their needs”, Zubair Motiwala opined while referring to US$4 billion deficit suffered by the country in the month of August.
“Despite contributing 68 percent revenue and 55 percent exports, the business community is compelled to continue their activities without security, gas and electricity and they have to face all the hindrances being created by civic agencies as well. In this scenario, running an industry in Karachi is not less than a Jihad”, he added.
Chairman BMG also appealed the Sindh Government to look into the possibility of raising pay packages of police officers to such an extent that they were able to easily overcome all their domestic expenditures and honestly discharge their duties without seeking bribe as under the present circumstances, it has become impossible for a police officer with four kids to handle his domestic expenses, hence he has no other choice but to seek bribe. “Penal action and regards are equally important to improve the law & order situation of Karachi. Those officers who perform really well must be promoted whereas the others who fail to deliver should be demoted and transferred to far flung areas of the province”, he added.
To deal with frequent traffic jam issue, he suggested that signal adherence must be strictly implemented and one-way violation should also not be tolerated at any cost while the youngsters must also not be allowed to ride bikes without a valid driving license.
Vice Chairman BMG Jawed Bilwani hoped that during the tenure of Imran Minhas, the law & order situation improves in Karachi which has deteriorated sharply nowadays particularly in District South and West. He suggested to compile a database of criminals in which date-wise records pertaining to arrests and bails of criminals must be maintained and publicized so that the honorable judges and everyone could see and analyze how many times these culprits had been apprehended and released on bail which would prove very fruitful.
General Secretary BMG AQ Khalil stated that it was a matter of concern that Karachi was the only city whose actual population has not been determined to date hence, in such a situation, it was impossible to evaluate the problems of this city, particularly the size of police force required for maintaining law and order situation of Karachi. “Rangers enjoys more powers and facilities as compared to police which needs to be strengthened, provided insurance facility and other perks, besides fully equipping them for efficiently dealing with criminals”, he added.
Earlier, President KCCI, in his welcome address, stated that the Karachi Chamber, being the premier and largest chamber, plays the role of a bridge between the law enforcing agencies and the business community so that the issues could be amicably and promptly resolved. He underscored the need to carry out effective policing all over Karachi where the population has risen to around 25 to 30 million whereas the law & order situation has been worsening day by day due to increase in street crimes, burglaries, thefts, motorcycle and vehicle snatching etc. which were widely being reported from almost all parts of the country.
PCLC Chief Hafeez Aziz requested AIG to nominate a DSP who must be tasked to look into and promptly resolve the issues being raised by KCCI.
The meeting was also attended by Chairman Businessmen Group & Former President KCCI Zubair Motiwala, Vice Chairman BMG Jawed Bilwani, General Secretary BMG AQ Khalil, President KCCI Muhammad Idrees, Senior Vice President Abdul Rehman Naqi, Vice President Qazi Zahid Hussain, Former Presidents Saeed Shafiq, Majyd Aziz, Younus Muhammad Bashir, Shamim Ahmed Firpo, PCLC Chief Hafeez Aziz and others.
