City Police vehicles continue to bear irregular number plates

The News Report

Most police cars in the city sport illegal or irregular number plates, and even the top brass of the police is guilty of violating their own laws in this regard, investigations by The News have revealed.

The traffic police on their part are adamant that the problem is not as bad as it was some months ago, as action is now being taken against errant police vehicles. “Illegal number plates have been removed from police cars on the order of the Inspector General,” claimed Wajid Ali Durrani, DIG Traffic, when asked why police vehicles were allowed to go around with such plates. Durrani said that not only has the usage of such police mobiles been curtailed, but a campaign was initiated against VIP vehicles in this regard. Durrani added that a squad had been organised and dispatched to the Sindh Secretariat to remove illegal plates from police and official vehicles.

On the other hand, however, interviews with the security staff and police officers on duty at the Secretariat revealed that such a squad only exists on paper. In fact, official cars and police vehicles bearing such plates are seen routinely parked at the Sindh Secretariat and Civic Centre, where most of the local and provincial government offices are housed. Durrani said that nearly 40,000 vehicles have been fined for bearing illegal number plates and six million rupees in fines (Rs150 per vehicle) have been collected since the ban was imposed.

— By Mehroz Sadruddin

3 women ‘dupe, kidnap, rape’ man in Karachi

* Case registered, police looking for alleged rapists
* Police say man sexually assaulted over four days

KARACHI: Karachi police have registered a case against three unidentified women who allegedly kidnapped a man and raped him over four consecutive days and then threw him near Qayyumabad River in an unconscious state. The case has been registered on a complaint by the victim, identified only as Khalil (23) – who recently arrived in Karachi from Rahimyar Khan and works as a waiter at a restaurant in Neelum Colony, Clifton.

On the night of January 27, an identified man ordered Khalil to deliver food to women sitting in a car parked outside the restaurant where he works. “After giving me the order, the man went towards the car. I took the order to the car where the women – two of whom were young and the third was middle-aged – told me that they had recently shifted to the area,” said Khalil. He said the women asked him to deliver food to their house every day, and he agreed. “They asked me to go along with them in the car ... they said they wanted to show me where their house was.” Khalil said the women gave him a ‘glazed sweet’ and once they got to the house, “they gave me milk that had some drug mixed in it ... I fell unconscious after drinking it”. Khalil said when he gained consciousness, he found that the women had undressed him, “and they were forcing themselves onto me”.

ASP Asad Raza said the women assaulted Khalil sexually for the next four days, and then threw him near Qayyumabad River. Khalil managed to stop a passing motorist – who took him to Civil Hospital. “His condition is really bad ... his genitals are bleeding and he cannot walk properly,” said Raza. Raza said the women belonged to rich families of Karachi’s Clifton area. “It’s a complicated case ... but we are hoping that we will solve it soon,” he added. (faraz khan)

Karachi tops in Human Rights violations

Karachi topped in human rights violations committed in Pakistan during 2008, the human rights minister informed the National Assembly yesterday.
Karachi was followed by Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta.
Mumtaz Gilani said that 5,140 cases of human rights violations were recorded in the country with Karachi at the top with 2,102 cases. A total of 1,695 such cases were recorded in Lahore, 715 in Peshawar and 628 in Quetta.
There were 690 cases directly reported to the ministry, according to the written reply to a question asked by Chaudhry Barjees Tahir.
The minister said that the information was based on press reports and complainants lodged with the ministry and related departments.
To a supplementary question, he said that lack of education and practising of certain traditions were the main causes of human rights violations in Sindh.
In Punjab, however, personnel of the law enforcement agencies were found behind the rights violations committed in the province.
Responding to other parts of the question, the minister said that all the cases had been sent to relevant home departments for investigation.
He said that a national human rights co-ordination committee had been set up under the chairmanship of a minister and interior secretary and provincial ministers in-charge of human rights departments as its members.
Likewise, provincial ministers responsible for human rights are heading provincial human rights committees and they have been tasked to form such committees at the district level.
The National Assembly was informed that officials from the federal ministry and regional directorates visited prisons, hospitals and schools on a regular basis to get information about victims of human rights violations and chalk out plan for their redressal.

Karachi fears Mumbai-style attack

Karachi, Pakistan's main commercial centre, faces the same threat that brought terror to the streets of Mumbai, its Indian counterpart, at the end of last year, one of Pakistan's leading provincial politicians has said.

Ishrat-ul Ebad Khan, the governor of Sindh province of which Karachi is the capital, said the moderate and cosmopolitan city faced a "really challenging situation" as Taliban elements had infiltrated the population and raised funding from criminal activitiesto finance terrorist activities.

"There is the infiltration of a few people. For terrorism you don't need the masses, rather you need a few people to create havoc in your area," Mr Khan told the Financial Times.

Karachi is Pakistan's largest city and home to the country's banking industry and capital markets. Its largely moderate and diverse population has faced a growing terrorist threat. Between 2004 and 2005 about 300kg of explosives were detonated in the city but the security forces captured more than 3,000kg of explosives during that period.

India claims that Karachi was the launch pad for the sea-borne attack on Mumbai that left almost 200 people dead. New Delhi has handed evidence to the international community showing that Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani militant group, launched the commando-style attack by capturing an Indian fishing boat and sailing it into waters off -Mumbai.

"We had better prepare ourselves," said Mr Khan of the escalating confrontation with militants in Pakistan. He warned against minimising the internal threat, saying that a culture of denial had led to the loss of territory to extremists.

"If we do not accept the reality that the Taliban exist here, we get the kind of situation we have [elsewhere] in Pakistan. We have lost Peshawar and Swat. That happened because of our own denial," he said.

Mr Khan said Karachi shared many of the attr-ib-utes of Mumbai, as both are large ports where job opportunities attracted migrants.

He warned that hostility to Pakistan from India might intensify in the run-up to the April general election in India, and hamper efforts to revive the economy and fight- terrorism.

"All the work [to bring the two countries together] through intellectual and cultural contact and such went down the drain [after Mumbai]," Mr Khan said.

Government officials see Karachi's future as the country's commercial hub as tied directly to the way Pakistan emerges from the period of tension with India. "The trends continue to be very disturbing. The Indians are eager to keep up the pressure and the threat of a conflict, limited in scale, hasn't gone away," said one official.

India yesterday said it was speeding up a $1bn (€765m, £701m) weapons programme to modernise its armed forces in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.

Pakistan's leaders have tried to reassure the Indians of their determination to pursue the militants linked to the Mumbai attacks.

The US state department yesterday announced that Richard Holbrooke, special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, would travel to an international security conference in Munich next week and then on to the region.

*Pakistani police say they have arrested three men allegedly trained by India's spy agency to carry out attacks inside Pakistan, AFP reports from Islamabad. (Financial Times)

Naeem-ul-Haq sets cricket in motion in United States

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

No matter how developed the society may be and how established the institutions are in place more often than not it are the proactive individuals who become the catalyst in bringing about a change.

Cricket has a deep rooted history in the United States of America (USA) but it has remained a minority sport over the years and it continues to be that way despite the presence of a large number of expatriates from the nations that have excelled in the game.

While the International Cricket Council (ICC), the governing body of the game, remains engaged in promoting the sport within its own set of policies, one needs to recognize the contribution of the fellows who are devoting all their energies in helping the game survive and flourish in the USA.

One individual who has stood out in promoting cricket in the USA in recent times is Naeem-ul-Haq, a former first-class cricketer from Karachi, who has now relocated on the outskirts of Miami in Florida.

Naeem, who also played for his employers Pakistan Customs besides representing Karachi before migrating to the USA, has been working hard for the promotion of the game from the moment he landed there.

He has been actively involved with the Michigan Cricket Association (MCA), having worked closely with its livewire President, Shahid Ahmed, who has also moved there from Karachi.

Naeem and Shahid, although living thousands of miles apart in the USA, have done wonders by joined hands in promoting the game. The two Karachiites have taken the time out to work for the promotion of the game on a regular that’s indeed the key.

In the past we have come across some enthusiasts who emerged on the scene with high spirits but disappeared quickly when they found the going tough as cricket is not one sport that’s going to make waves at this stage.

Besides the high level of commitment, a lot of patience is also required to promote cricket in the USA. By the look of things Naeem and Shahid appear to be having the qualities that could signal a turnaround in the fortunes of the game there.

Their single largest contribution so far seems to be the Diversity Cup that they have been able to hold successfully in Michigan for the past few years. It has become an annual event in which teams from different communities take part every summer. They have already announced to hold this year’s Diversity Cup from July 3 to 5.

The legendary cricketers like Javed Miandad, Greg Chappell, Asif Iqbal and Mushtaq Mohammad have already been to Detroit and they have lauded the efforts aimed at popularizing the game that has so much potential.

Naeem, a qualified coach now, is lately in the process of launching the Florida Cricket Academy for which he has already obtained a piece of land in Fort Lauderdale. He is in Karachi these days and the main purpose of his visit is to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the famed Customs Cricket Academy, founded by Jalaluddin, the first bowler to have recorded a hat-trick in One-day Internationals.

Karachi police arrests 4,100 for pillion-riding in 50 days

KARACHI: While the city police have arrested and penalised at least 4,100 motorcyclists since the Sindh home department clamped a ban on pillion-riding on Nov 30 last year, the restriction has become irksome for the general public as it has been placed by the authorities without citing any justification for it in the relevant notification.
The provincial home department had extended the ban on pillion-riding under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code for 40 days beginning on Jan 11.
According to a home department notification, any violation of this order shall attract penal action under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The ban would remain in place till Feb 19, it stated, adding that all the SHOs had been directed to take action against violators strictly in accordance with the relevant laws.
A pillion-riding ban was initially clamped after riots broke out in Karachi in November, and it has been extended for a third time. Security organisations staff, women, senior citizens and journalists are exempt from this ban.
Sources said that as many as 4,090 people were booked and arrested in around 1,558 FIRs registered against them under Section 188 of the PPC for violating the ban during the past 50 days.
Section 188 of the PPC says that whoever, knowing that by an order promulgated by a public servant lawfully empowered him to promulgate such order, disobeys such direction may be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months or with a fine which may extend to Rs1,000 or with both.
The sources said that 2,253 offenders were booked in 803 FIRs under the relevant section for violating the pillion-riding ban in the south police zone, 1,169 booked in 440 FIRS in east zone and 678 motorcyclists were booked and arrested for the offence in 315 FIRs in the west police zone.
The capital city police chief, Wasim Ahmed, told Dawn that the police department had requested the home department for an extension in the pillion-riding ban for controlling the crime and maintaining law and order in the city.
'The overall rate of street crime has since declined,' he said, adding that pillion-riding always helped criminals and terrorists.
Justifying the ban, the CCPO said there was a sharp decrease in the incidence of carjacking due to the restriction on pillion-riding. 'In September, 20 cars were taken away on an average daily and the number dropped to some 9.8 in December,' he added.
Answering a question, the city police chief conceded that no known criminal or terrorist was among those arrested for violating the ban on pillion-riding.
'Criminals and terrorists have eventually stopped riding pillion on motorcycles following the ban,' he added.
Meanwhile, sources said the restriction on pillion-riding had caused a great deal of inconvenience to the public.
They said the arrested violators were produced before the deputy district officer, revenue, of the respective town, who had magisterial powers.
The sources said the DDOs were giving maximum relief to violators ordering their release on bail either against a surety of Rs5,000 or a personal bond.
They said the lawyers appearing on behalf of the violators were charging at least Rs2,000 for taking up a case before the EDOs.
A DDO, who did not wish to be named, said that a large number of cases registered under Section 188 for violating the pillion riding ban were pending disposal as the police did not submit the final charge-sheet against accused persons.
He said he had decided over 90 cases and a similar number was pending disposal as charge-sheets were not submitted by the police.
He said he only fined the violators and did not sentence any of them to a term in jail. 'They are not criminals and they deserve to be given maximum favour,' he said.
On the other hand, a number of victims told Dawn that they were initially asked by the policemen to grease their palms if they did not want the registration of cases against them.
'They (police) asked me to give Rs2,000 if I did not want to be booked in the FIR,' said a victim, who wished not to be named for obvious reasons. He said the policemen told him that in case of registration of an FIR against him, he would have to spend much more money to get released from court.
Despite repeated attempts, the provincial home secretary could not be contacted for comments.

Dhabayjee-Karachi water supply line bursts

THATTA: Dhabayjee 72-inch diameter pipeline supplying water to Karachi ruptured, for reasons not known immediately.

The pipeline burst hitting the water supply to city has given rise to fears of water famine that the citizens might have to undergo. This pipeline was laid in 1978. Sources said that the pipeline ruptured due to frequent breakdown of electricity supply.

Water Board officials told that the repair work was underway and Karachi would be supplied water from alternative conduits.

Karachi not a sweet word in Mumbai

Six members of an Indian political party were arrested on Friday for threatening the owner of ‘Karachi Sweets’, a confectioner in the Mulund suburb of Mumbai, the Hindustan Times reported on Sunday.

The members of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) – a breakaway faction of Shiv Sena – wrote a threatening letter to the owner, it said. “The owners of the sweet shop may have come from Karachi, but now since they are citizens of this country, they should adopt an Indian name,” MNS leader Shishir Shinde told the newspaper. daily times monitor

First 7-storey parking plaza to open next month

City Nazim Mustafa Kamal has announced that the first ever seven-storey parking plaza, which can accommodate more than 1,200 vehicles, would be operational next month. He said this during his visit to the parking site in Saddar Town. The City District Government Karachi (CDGK) has constructed the seven-storey parking plaza at a cost of Rs 700 million, said Kamal.

While being briefed on the occasion, Kamal was informed that the parking plaza will not only serve parking purposes but, in fact, will also comprise offices and a shopping centre. It would be a state-of-the-art parking plaza, equipped with the latest scanning machines, close-circuit cameras, a standby generator and a heavy lift for vehicles would also be available.

After being briefed about the salient aspects of the parking plaza, Kamal directed Transport EDO Iftikhar Ali Qaim Khani to make separate arrangements for a car wash area at each storey and conduct a comprehensive survey of the entire area in the vicinity of the parking plaza prior to the inauguration, so that the busy Empress Market area and other streets in Saddar could be declared a parking-free zone.

Kamal further directed that the parking plaza’s plans be shown to the Traffic DIG before the formal inauguration.

Meanwhile, the shopkeepers of Shahabuddin Market told the city nazim about their problems, on which Kamal assured them that the CDGK would soon start development work on the second parking plaza in Saddar.

Kanupp power supply to Karachi suspended

Kanupp power supply to the city has been suspended, which has given rise to the fear that of load shedding duration further widening.

Geo TV said that Kanupp supplies 85 megawatt of electricity to the city, which after suspension would mount the shortfall in power supply to Karachi to 300MW and lengthen the existing duration of load shedding for 3/4 hours to 6/7 hours.