Karachi: The provincial Sindh government and Pakistan’s federal government are once again at loggerheads over the issue of extending the Paramilitary Rangers’ special powers, which expired on Tuesday night.
A summary recommending the extension of the Rangers existence in the province, was allegedly sent for the consideration and approval of Syed Qaim Ali Shah, the chief minister, but his signature was still pending.
The Rangers, which work under the federal interior ministry, and are deployed in any province at the demand of the respective government, have expressed the desire to expand their domain into the rest of Sindh in addition to Karachi, where the force had been carrying an operation against the outlaws for past three years.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government in Sindh, has undeclared suspicions that the federal government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, might use the Rangers as a catalyst for political victimisation of PPP leaders in the interior of Sindh.
Sources said provincial home minister Anwar Sohail Sayal, was summoned by Asif Ali Zardari, PPP party head, who opted to live abroad, to discuss the contour of the renewed extension to the Rangers special powers.
The Rangers were empowered with special provisions by the federal and the provincial government three years back, assigning them the policing powers as well as the taking any suspect into a 90-day custody for interrogation instead of generally two weeks remand.
The PPP government in the province was upset over the arrest of former petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain, who was picked up by the Rangers as well as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), an anti-corruption cell under the federal government,for question over alleged corruption cases as well as abatement to terrorists.
Abdul Qadir Patel, a former minister of the PPP government was also arrested on Tuesday in the same case as an anti-terrorism court refused to extend his bail application.
Another former minister Sharjeel Memon, was also wanted by the law enforcement agencies on several cases of corruption.
Meanwhile, Maula Baksh Chandio, the provincial information minister talking to the media in Hyderabad city said the delay in the extension of Rangers’ powers was not a matter of surprise. He said that it made no difference if the matter was delayed for a couple of days.
Defending his government position, Chandio said, in the interior of Sindh, the law and order situation was not as bad as in Karachi, so there was no need to deploy Rangers in the rest of the province.
