KARACHI, Sept 9: The Sindh police chief conceded before a five-judge special bench of the Supreme Court on Friday that 30 to 40 per cent appointments in police had been made on the basis of political affiliation which hampered action against criminals.
The bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is hearing a suo motu case on killings in Karachi. The other judges on the bench are: Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Ghulam Rabbani and Amir Hani Muslim.
IG Wajid Ali Durrani informed the court that action was being taken against personnel whose political affiliations had been determined.
The chief justice ordered the IG to take an across-the-board action against criminals because all political parties which had appeared before the court wanted peace in the country`s financial hub.
“We are here to strengthen you; we are backing you. You must take action against criminals without any fear or favour,” the chief justice told the IG.
Mr Durrani said sympathisers of political parties in the police force and some other factors were hampering action against criminals. He said politically-affiliated elements in police had a “soft corner” for criminals.
He said that under the Police Order he had powers only to transfer officers up to the rank of DSP. “I don`t have powers to even suspend a DSP.” Justice Sarmad Osmany said it meant “you (Mr Durrani) are not independent”.
The IG said there were hurdles in getting requisite information from mobile phone companies and from banks in respect of ATMs. He said the Inter-Services Intelligence had the facility of GSM/RBS locators.
The chief justice asked the IG if he was under any political pressure to take action against criminals. “We are here to help you,” the CJ said and asked the IG to submit such problem in writing.
The court asked Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq to seek instructions in this regard from the authorities concerned and submit a report at the next hearing.
Justice Amir Hani said that over 900 officers had been given shoulder-promotions in the police department. The chief justice said this practice had been stopped in other provinces on the apex court`s order and asked why was this order not being implemented in Sindh.
When the chief justice wanted know if a case about the presence of a torture cell was registered, Karachi police chief Saud Mirza said it could not be done because the cell had been raided by Rangers personnel and police were yet to get details.
The attorney general placed on record a report of the Intelligence Bureau on the Karachi situation.
Sindh Advocate General Fateh Malik presented a summary of different cases from July 24 to August 24.
The court sought details of certain some criminal cases from provincial authorities.
The chief justice observed that police were capable of controlling the situation, but they were not doing so because of lack of determination and will.
The hearing was adjourned till Sept 13 when Sindh High Court Bar Association President Anwer Mansoor Khan will resume his arguments.
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