KARACHI, Nov 15: Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Thursday hinted that the government was taking some fresh measures to halt the recurring bloodshed in Karachi and made a passionate appeal to the people, media and particularly the estranged lawmakers to cooperate with the government in maintaining law and order in the city.

He added that law and order was not only the responsibility of the Pakistan People’s Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement, but of all people as peace was in the interest of Sindh and the whole country.

The chief minister was making a statement on the floor of the house on the law and order situation when Syed Faisal Sabzwari through his point of order drew the attention of the house towards incidents of terrorism mentioned by a number of lawmakers while offering Fateha for people killed in the recent incidents of violence.

Referring to the measures being taken to check criminals and their nefarious activities, he said besides setting up security pickets on all entry points of Karachi, he had issued instructions a few days back that each vehicle be checked on its entry and exit from Karachi, including vehicles with the national flag, and even that of the chief minister himself.

He said another decision was about computerising of all arms licences. And until they were computerised, they would be treated as cancelled after the announcement.

The chief minister said that most crimes were taking place with the help of cellphones, which were being used in robberies, kidnapping and murders, but shutting them temporarily would cause inconvenience both to the public and law-enforcers. The government had, therefore, decided that SIMs would be sold only on producing
original computerised national identify cards and would be delivered at residential addresses only.

He claimed that criminals behind the recent suicide attack on the Rangers headquarters had been discovered.

The chief minister said the government had worked out a strategy to check serious crimes such as bomb blasts and suicide attacks and to an extent had controlled them.
In that regard, he said that during the last four years only a few such incidents had occurred, including attacks on a Muharram procession, the CIA centre and Rangers headquarters, but all those involved had been identified or arrested.

He said the sectarian issue was of immense importance and called for realisation by everyone that such incidents were the loss of all Pakistanis. “Therefore, everyone should cooperate with the government to curb sectarianism,” he said.

The chief minister wished that the 10 to 12 days of Muharram should pass peacefully, pointing out that some internal and external elements wanted to disturb the peace in Karachi, which was not only the economic hub of the country, but also the centre of politics and social activities.

He said he had received a report on the police performance, which said that during the year 2012 the police had encountered 2,459 criminals, 50 per cent of whom were challenged in the anti-terrorism courts from where hardened criminals got themselves released on bail within a week.

He pledged to have a full-fledged debate on law and order in the house after Ashura.