KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah told police to control the buying and selling of new and used mobile phones. He also asked them to take action against scrap dealers who trade parts of stolen vehicles.
In a meeting at the CM House, he said all mobile phone sales in Karachi and other areas should be recorded and checked legally.
The Inspector General of Police, Ghulam Nabi Memon, said rules for the mobile phone trade were ready after talks with the Mobile Market Association.
The meeting looked at efforts to stop stolen vehicle and motorcycle parts. Police have arrested 234 scrap dealers and 27 people for unlocking stolen phones illegally in joint operations with the FIA.
The misuse of vehicles with blue lights, tinted windows, and fancy number plates was also discussed. Police have taken over 14,000 vehicles with blue lights, more than 81,000 with tinted windows, and 253,000 with changed number plates. Over 500 vehicles were seized for showing weapons. This led to 1,474 cases and fines of Rs34.6 million.
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Police reported 245 encounters this year, with 38 suspects killed, 262 injured, and 1,983 arrested, the Shaheen Force, with 386 motorcycles, is back to watch street crime areas. The Madadgar-15 service now has 120 new bikes and a better call center.
In Karachi, 2,000 cameras are working, with 325 new ones added and 500 old ones being fixed. About 40,000 community CCTV cameras are also in place. The Sindh Smart Surveillance System is being built with cameras for number plates and face recognition under the Karachi Safe City Project.
The meeting talked about police stations too. Out of 31 planned, 10 have been fixed with Rs280 million, and the rest should be done in a month. The home minister said e-tagging for repeat offenders will start soon, with 4,000 devices ready and rules set.
The CM asked for a plan to help prisoners change and suggested special courts for murder and drug cases. They are hiring 400 prosecutors to help with investigations.
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The CM also said policing in Sukkur and Larkana needs to improve to stop kidnappings for money. He asked for quick action to reduce crime there.
In the katcha region, from January to March 2025, there were 22 kidnappings, and 17 victims were freed. The CM told police to work harder on unsolved cases and increase efforts in Shikarpur, Kashmore, Ghotki, and Sukkur.
Officials said that since April 2024, operations in katcha areas have used Sindh Rangers, drones, and night vision tools. So far, 85 dacoits were killed and 166 injured, while 20 policemen died and 33 were hurt.
