The interior ministry on Wednesday said the Sindh government would not withdraw policing power from the paramilitary Rangers force in Karachi.
“Earlier, we decided we will withdraw Rangers from the metropolis after Youm-e-Ali but after talks with Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah we have decided to extend their requisition,” Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar said.
Claiming that the federal government will not allow Rangers to be targetted, Nisar said, “Rangers is our own force and operating under rules and regulations.”
“The paramilitary force has become an object of political criticism which will not be allowed,” he added.
Further, lauding the Rangers, Nisar said, “It is a force trained to fight on the border and when they are deployed in the city is over and above their call of duty.”
On Tuesday, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah claimed that under the 18th constitutional amendment, the provincial government was bound to seek the legislative assembly’s approval before allowing Rangers to continue working under extended powers.
The statement comes in the wake of recent raids by Rangers at offices of different provincial government departments that have upset the political stakeholders. Four months ago, the paramilitary force was given special powers to detain suspects for 90 days. The permission expired today.
