KARACHI: Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar presiding over an introductory meeting of his caretaker cabinet on Monday decided to take strict measures to control law & order, notably eliminating dacoits in the Katcha area and street crime in Karachi.

The meeting was held at CM House and attended by caretaker ministers, Brig (retd) Haris Nawaz, Younus Dhaga, Mubeen Jumani, Dr Saad Khalid, Dr Junaid Shah, Mrs Rana Hussain, Ishwar Lal, Arshad Wali Muhammad, Omar Soomro, Khuda Bux Marri, Chief Secretary Dr Fakhre Alam, Advocate General Hassan Akbar, PG, Secretary to CM Raheem Shaikh and others.

At the outset, the caretaker chief minister said that the cabinet meeting was held as an introductory which was aimed at setting an agenda for good governance, service to the people, and and supporting the election commission of Pakistan for carrying out their work.

Justice (retd) Baqar said that in the aftermath of the floods, poverty had increased manifold in the province. He added that therefore, there was a dire need to take concrete measures to alleviate poverty. 

The CM said that the caretaker government is apolitical, and it was for all irrespective of their socio-political identification or affiliation. “We are not here to raise fingers of accusation against others, but we would try to improve the governance to serve the people and support the Election Commission of Pakistan in their assignment,” he said.   

He said that there was a need to promote interfaith harmony in the province. He added that people of different faiths and beliefs had lived together on this land, but anti-state elements were trying to distrub law and order by igniting religious hatred, so we must stop it.  

It was pointed out that the dacoits had developed sway in the katcha area, therefore, the cabinet had decided to launch an operation against the dacoits. The home minister was directed to chalk out a plan in consultation with the police and other law enforcement agencies so that a well-coordinated operation clean-up against the dacoits could be launched.

The cabinet members pointed out that due to some ongoing development works in the city, traffic jam issues emerged during the peak hours, therefore, the traffic police was directed to manage traffic flow properly.

The meeting after a thorough discussion decided to expedite work on the ongoing development schemes, and to accelerate work on the foreign-funded projects so that they could be completed well in time.

It was pointed out that the people from far-flung areas visit government offices, in Karachi and in their respective districts where their problems were not being resolved. The Chief Minister directed all the ministers, particularly of the Revenue, Local Government, Police, and Health to direct their respective departments to make their offices functional and public-oriented everywhere.

Published in The Daily National Courier, August, 21 2023

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