KARACHI: The provincial cabinet of Sindh on Saturday gave its approval to extending the paramilitary Rangers’ stay in the province under the special powers of Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) for another 90 days.

The Sindh cabinet met to discuss a range of issues including the extension of Rangers’ stay in the province.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah apprised the members of his cabinet that the Rangers were operating in the province from as back as 1989 under Article 147 to assist the local police in law and order affairs, but in August 2016, special powers of policing under ATA section 4 were also delegated to the paramilitary force in order to curb the rising terrorism, militancy and heinous crimes

The term of such powers was for 90 days and the government kept extending the term, with occasional hiccups, amid political disputes between the provincial and federal governments.

The current term of the Rangers’s stay expired on April 17 that led them to wind up their presence on the streets and stop raiding or arresting the suspects or criminals.

This time, extending the Rangers’ powers came under sharp scrutiny by the provincial government as it came on the heels of the recent incidents of three missing aides of Asif Ali Zardari, the virtual head of the provincial government and head of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

It was generally believed that they might have been picked up by the law enforcement agencies, especially the Rangers.

However, the Rangers on Friday told the presiding judge of a division bench of Sindh High Court that they did not arrest Ghulam Qadir Marri, one of the missing aide of Zardari or any of his other associates.

In today’s cabinet meeting, the chief minister appreciated the Rangers’ performance saying the force effectively curbed the networks of militant wings, extortionists and assassins. He also acknowledged that through the ongoing operation, good results were yielded.

On this note, the chief minister accorded his approval to the extension of Rangers’ powers under the ATA laws that allowed the force to operate with policing powers.

The other members of the cabinet also supported the move.

The cabinet also approved the strategy for the upcoming assembly session when the budget is likely to be presented.