Daily Times

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly expressed serious concern over the situation of law and order in Karachi on Wednesday, while demanding solid steps to improve security in the province.

Speaking at the session, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah assured the House that the government was seriously looking into the situation. He said sincere efforts were underway to uphold peace in the province.

“There have been no major terrorism incidents in the province, our law enforcement agencies have made many sacrifices for this to transpire,” he said.

On the other hand, opposition lawmaker Abdul Rashid highlighted the rising incidence of street crimes in the city. He said the number of criminal cases reported on a daily basis has increased with time and urged the government to take notice of the situation through better planning and coordination.

Meanwhile, PTI member and parliamentarian Khurram Sherzman said that the Sindh Rangers director general had said that 22,000 police officers would be deployed in the city. However, only 14,000 officers were performing duties at the moment, he said, adding that most of these officials were also on duty with very important personalities (VIP).

Earlier, Haleem Adil Sheikh, the PTI general secretary, addressed the media in front of the Assembly premises. He highlighted the poor state of public health facilities and food products in the city. “In our country, carrion meat is sold openly causing widespread illness and disease,” he said, referring to a recent incident reported in the media where two minors’ death was attributed to consumption of carrion meat.

He said that carrion meat was openly being sold in the market. “In 2014, carrion beef was available in the market at the rate of Rs10,000 to Rs15,000 per animal,” he said.

Further, Sheikh said that in a recent meeting with officials of the provincial food authority he was told that milk and water samples tested from across the province were found to be unfit for human consumption.

He also raised the issue of use of water from the sewerage system for irrigation of vegetable fields. He said vegetables and fruits available in city markets were grown using polluted water. “At poultry farms, chicken are fed on a diet that contains hazardous chemicals. The same chicken is then sold for human consumption.”

“Law is relaxed for the likes of Anwar Majeed. We are quick to offer subscriptions and subsidies and make laws but there is attention towards implementation of these laws,” he lamented.

Another opposition lawmaker from the PTI, Jamaluddin Siddiqui warned Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar to not indulge in any scheme against residents of government quarters.

Published in Daily Times, November 15^th 2018.