News
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Armed wings of political parties behind Karachi unrest, SC told* Court holds law-enforcement authorities responsible for deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi as seven more killed in fresh violence
KARACHI: The Supreme Court (SC) was told on Wednesday that militant wings of political parties were active in Karachi.
A larger bench of the court resumed hearing of the case pertaining to implementation of its 2011 order in a suo motu notice over the security situation in the city.
The court held law-enforcement authorities responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi, amid calls from political parties for deployment of military troops in the metropolis.
During the hearing, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Chaudhry asked respondents how the citizens could be protected when the forces could not protect themselves.
Summoned by the court, Sindh Rangers DG Rizwan Akhtar blamed the unrest on armed wings of political parties, which he said were on a killing spree. He said it was necessary to eliminate these for peace in the city.
Akhtar told the court that the Rangers had limited powers. They could arrest criminals, but not investigate the crimes properly. He added that those arrested were soon bailed out of prison.
“In the past 10 months, 28 Rangers personnel have been killed and 55 seriously injured in clashes,” he said.
The court has been directing the federal and provincial authorities to take effective measures to bring the senseless killing in the city to a stop since its verdict.
The Supreme Court ordered the submission of two years’ worth of correspondence between executives of both the federal and provincial governments in the next hearing.
The bench directed the attorney general of Pakistan to appear in person before the court and inform it about the stance of federal government for providing assistance to provincial government to ease the aggravated law and order situation in Karachi. The chief justice said that two years ago, the court had passed the judgement over the situation in the city but the government did not take effective measure to maintain peace as the situation in the city was aggravating day by day.
Expressing his displeasure and dissatisfaction over the conduct of the provincial authorities and law-enforcement agencies, the chief justice adjourned the hearing until Thursday.
Meanwhile, at least seven more people were reported dead in violent incidents in the city on Wednesday, with three others severely injured. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk