I did not order Lyari operation, says Mirza

KARACHI - Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza said on Friday that neither he had ordered the operation in Lyari nor was aware about it, however, as soon as the matter came to his knowledge he immediately ordered to stop it. He was talking to the media persons after the passing-out parade of second batch of Eaglet Squad of the Sindh Police at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Elite Police Training Centre. The minister said that the investigation regarding Ashura mayhem was underway and the investigators were making efforts to reach a logical conclusion. Dr Mirza said that any new development regarding the investigation process would be shared with people through the media. He pointed out that the law-enforcement agencies (LEA) had arrested around 32 suspects for their alleged involvement in the arson attacks in Bolton Market after the bomb blast, adding that they would be released if found innocent after a thorough investigation. The minister claimed that such indiscriminate operation would never be conducted in Lyari in future. If the need arises for an action against the criminals, in case they hide somewhere in the area or setting up their hideout then action will be taken but not against the entire area or people, it will an oriented action only against the criminals not the people, he elaborated. About incidents of target-killings, Dr Mirza said that the entire society will have to struggle against this menace, adding that civil society organisations and political parties and their leaders played a tremendous role to stop target-killing. Earlier, addressing the ceremony, Dr Mirza while referring to overall situation in the country, said that the government was well aware of its responsibility, adding that the Police were being reorganised on scientific lines to counter terrorism, sectarian violence, kidnapping for ransom and bomb blast incidents. He said that President Asif Zardari was also taking interest in enhancing the police efficiency and due to his full support, the performance of police would be further improved. The minister, on behalf of Sindh Chief Minster Qaim Ali Shah, presented cheque for Rs10 million to the Commandant of the Training Centre Din Mohammad Baloch for the uplift of the centre. After the passing out parade, the trained recruits of Eaglet Squad also demonstrated their abilities in front of chief guest, senior police officials and media. Sindh IGP Sultan Salahuddin Babar Khattak, Additional IG Wajid Ali Durrani, CCPO Karachi Waseem Ahmed and other senior police officers were also present on the occasion. As many as 1,580 recruits passed out of which 1,090 recruits belonged to Hyderabad region, 380 Sukkhar region and 300 recruits belonged to Sindh Reserve Police (SRP). The recruits are trained to counter heinous crimes including bomb blast, kidnapping for ransom, sectarian violence and others. Also, this training would be beneficial to all recruits, as they could easily fulfil their duties and help the people when they return to their regional areas.

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