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Eliminate Karachi no-go-areas by April 4: SCISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chauhdry has directed police and Rangers to eliminate no-go-areas by exhausting all the resources available in Karachi by the time the apex court resume hearing Karachi unrest case in the city on April 4.
“We are going to Karachi to hear unrest case and all the law enforcement agencies will be responsible if they failed in implementing court orders,” the CJ remarked.
The orders came as five-member special bench of the apex court headed by the CJ took up the case regarding no-go-areas in Karachi.
The bench came down heavily on police officers saying that why police were unable to locate the areas when media could obtain credible information in this regard.
DIG West Zone Karachi Zafar Bukhari and SSP East Zone Amir Farooqui appeared before bench and claimed that the situation was improving in the city, home to at least 20 million people.
Police officers claimed that there were no no-go-areas in the city instead criminals were holed up in some pockets of the metropolis where operations are also conducted.
Justice Khilji Arif Hussain inquired whether people could independently move in Shanti Nagar area of Karachi while a Naval base was also located.
The police officers told the court that a slum area was located under the hills in Mangopir where the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan have presence of at least 200 militants. The officers said situation was now improving as in the past they had been working under political influence.
The CJ said no police officer had submitted that any political party was not allowing him to work freely.
The police said that anti-polio campaign was carried out in Shanti Nagar, which was identified as a no-go-area by a newspaper.
The CJ inquired if criminals who were still roaming freely in Lyari had been arrested, adding that the Supreme Court bench would also take up the issue during the hearing of the Karachi law and order case.
The bench directed that copies of its order and newspaper carrying story regarding no-go-areas be provide to Director General Rangers and Inspector General Sindh, seeking their explanation as to why situation had not improved in case they rejected the story.
Courtesy www.geo.tv