Daily Times

LAHORE: Director General Rangers Sindh has prayed to the Supreme Court of Pakistan that effective steps need to be taken to ‘depoliticise’ the police department and that appointments in police be made through a transparent and merit-based process.

In his reply submitted to the apex court in a suo motu case regarding killings in Karachi, DG Rangers requested the court to direct Sindh government to allow Sindh Rangers to set up their own police stations with powers of registration of FIR, investigation and submission of challan.

The Rangers further prayed that powers under anti-terrorist act should be extended at least on yearly basis. He also requested for security of tenure to all those who are involved in the law and order enforcement at Sindh Secretariat as well as in respect of all police postings.

According to the report, exclusively shared with Daily Times, DG Rangers termed the investigation by police ‘whimsical and influenced’. He said that in last one-and-a-half year, more than 1,100 persons were let off because of defective investigations. Many of those released were involved in street crimes as well as crimes of heinous nature. Quoting an example, he told the apex court through his written statement that main accused person in Safoora Goth carnage which brought bad name not only to the city but the whole country was arrested and then released in 2011 because the police could not properly investigate and produce adequate evidence against him although the intelligence report clearly stated that he had threatened to commit huge acts having huge consequences.

In the report, the DG Rangers criticised the recruitment process of Sindh Police, saying neither the selection was made on merit nor the selected people were trained adequately. He also stressed on the security of the tenure of officials posted at police stations, district police, Rangers and central police office. For better results, he maintained, investigations officers be deputed by police department; they must remain under their thumb and be transferred frequently.

He said that Rangers have been provided 11 prosecutors in high-profile case of Dr Asim, while the prosecutors nominated by Sindh Rangers have not been notified by the Home Department. He pointed out that on December 9, 2015, a request for nomination in 110 cases was made to the Home Department and the request was still pending.

The DG Rangers was of the opinion that improvement in present law and order situation was fragile. He said it cannot be sustained for a long period of time.

The report says that certain actions of the provincial government are tantamount to an attempt to limit legal powers and actions of the Rangers. It maintains that if facilitators, abettors and financiers of terrorists and criminals are not allowed to be apprehended, any action would not produce desired results.

The apex court was informed that powers of Rangers under ATA were being extended by the provincial government for 60, 90 or 120 days only. The report added that this act of provincial government was creating an impression among the public that the policing powers of Sindh Rangers in Karachi were temporary and that it has to leave the city after the expiry of the authorized period. It said that due to this act of the provincial government, the citizens of Karachi feel that they will be unsafe if the powers of Rangers were not extended.