SC says killings, extortion, aimed at occupying Karachi

KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Friday took exception to Sindh’s Home Secretary failure to inform the apex court bench about number of arms licenses issued in Karachi.

An SC bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was hearing Karachi law and order implementation case.

The secretary said exact number of arms licenses were known not as the administration was still collecting data in this regard.

The bench ordered the Sindh and Federal governments to submit their reply after going through Ramzan Bhatti commission as the court will give ruling after reviewing the report of the one-man commission.

The Supreme Court said that extortion, land grabbing and targeted killings were aimed at taking hold of Karachi.

The court also inquired about the under trial prisoners (UTPs) released on parole and asked how many of them were terrorists.

Prosecutor General Sindh Shahadat Awan told the bench that the 70 accused were released in former chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim’s tenure on the orders of then chief secretary

The bench sought report form Sindh IG about prevailing law and order situation in Lyari and no-go-areas in Karachi.

There is no problem in Lyari, we are taking action on daily basis, Sndh IG responded when Chief Justice asked: “IG Sahib has Lyari been cleared?”.

“There are some problems in Sohrab Goth, Manghopir and some other areas but we will soon overcome,” the top cop said.

The chief justice also sought report about the political affiliations of policemen. The IG said that intelligence agencies were probing the issue.

The Supreme Court directed the Sindh government to verify all the arms licenses and arrest accused released on parole. The bench adjourned the hearing for two weeks.