Karachi: Law enforcement agencies on Saturday claimed that they had achieved up to 70 per cent success in eliminating banned militant groups and gangs involved in targeted killings and established big achievements during the past two years of the operation.
Briefing the media on the occasion of the second anniversary of the Karachi Operation that began on September 5, 2013, senior officials of the police and paramilitary Rangers said the operation was launched to protect the lives and properties of the citizens.
“We carried all out action against the banned outfits, militant wings and gangs and consequently there has been a 60 to 70 per cent decrease in extortion and targeted killings in the city,” Colonel Amjab of the Rangers told reporters.
He further said Rangers alone carried 16,081 raids in the city and arrested 913 terrorists and more than 550 involved in targeted killings.
The officer said their forces lost 23 soldiers during the operation. He said that due to the success of the operation, people were now optimistic.
“Everyone is happy over Karachi operations and are demanding the authorities keep it up and put in efforts to maintain sustainable peace in the city.,” he said.
The Rangers recovered more than 16,000 weapons from criminals in the raids and crackdowns.
The Rangers and the police worked together in the ongoing operation, with authorities saying cooperation would continue in the future as well.
Karachi police chief, Mushtaq Mahar said before the launch of the operation every day eight people were shot dead by the outlaws but now this rate had significantly come down because of the rigorous efforts of the police.
He, however, confessed that terrorists’ sleeper-cells were operating in the city, but vowed the police would eradicate those cells as well.
Highlighting the performance of the police force, Mahar said in the past two years there were some 3,500 armed encounters with criminals and militants. In those encounters and due to targeted killings more than 250 police officers and officials were martyred, he said.
In thousands of raids carried out by police during the period under review, they seized explosives of more than 500kg besides recovering 17 suicide vests. More than 15,000 weapons were also recovered from the criminals during the raids, he said.
The police arrested 343 extortionists and in the process of self-accountability, more than 1,000 police officials were also blacklisted for their involvement in crimes.
The police chief said controlling street crime was still a big challenge for the police and special cells were being set up to overcome cellphone snatching and other petty street crimes.
The police has recommended the government to set up more speedy courts to prosecute the arrested killers and high-profile criminals. A list of heinous crime cases was also being drawn to be referred to the military courts, which were set up to dispense cases instantly.
