President Asif Ali Zardari has issued directives to authorities concerned to take stern action against hardcore criminals involved in heinous crimes besides stressing rehabilitation of those lawbreakers from kacha areas who surrendered before the state.

The president expressed his views while chairing a meeting in Sukkur on the law and order situation in Sindh on Monday.

He said that those kacha criminals in Sindh, except hardened criminals, who are willing to surrender to the state should be gradually brought into the mainstream and rehabilitated to make them responsible and productive citizens of the country.

He called for taking stern action against hardcore criminals involved in heinous crimes, an official statement read.

President Zardari further emphasised the need to improve the road, health, and education infrastructure of the kacha areas on a priority basis to improve the socio-economic condition of the people.

He advised that a Qaumi Jirga, comprising tribal chiefs, should be convened to engage and negotiate with the local population to bring normalcy, prevent crimes, de-weaponise and improve the security situation in the riverine areas.

He was briefed on the law and order situation in Sindh and the implementation status of the directions given during the last meeting held on May 1.

He was apprised that the crimes and violence in Sindh, especially in Karachi and kacha areas, had witnessed a declining trend due to the effective strategy adopted by the police and Rangers.

The provincial police chief said that the activities of dacoits had been considerably reduced and no highways-related crime had been reported in the past two months.

It was also highlighted that targeted operations and installation of smart cameras had helped control crimes and identify and arrest criminals and their abettors.

DG Rangers told the meeting that 133 joint operations had been conducted by the Sindh Police and the Rangers which led to the arrest of hundreds of dacoits and criminals. He stated that additional check posts had also been established in various parts of kacha to control crime.

The session was further informed that on the directions of the president, the campaign against drug peddlers was intensified and, in this regard, 308 drug suppliers had been arrested, besides installing smart cameras to monitor the entry points of the province.

During the huddle, President Zardari said that the Sindh government should focus on raising a police force along modern lines to effectively meet the security challenges and requirements of the province.

He also underlined the need to strengthen the capacity of the Sindh Police by providing them with modern equipment and weapons, adequate human resources, and logistics.

Zardari added that police officials should be incentivised enabling them to committedly discharge their duties. “We also need to encourage women to join Sindh Police”, he added. He stated that the welfare of the families and children of martyrs of Sindh Police should be ensured.

The president directed to expedite the upgradation of Sakrand Police Commando School as well as the provision of land for the establishment of Cadet College for Police. He added that selected students of the Cadet College would be educated and trained to join the Sindh Police.

He appreciated the performance of the Sindh government, police and Rangers in controlling crime and improving the security situation of the province.

The high-level meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Interior Mohsin Raza Naqvi, MNA Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Sindh Assembly Speaker Syed Waqar Qadir Shah, Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, Sindh Minister for Planning and Development Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Minister Home, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Zia Ul Hassan Lanjar, Additional Chief Secretary Sindh Mr Muhammad Iqbal Memon, Inspector General (IG) Sindh Ghulam Nabi Memon, Ranger Sindh Director General Major General Azhar Waqas, GOC 16 Div Major General Aamer Amin, and senior officials of the federal and provincial governments.