Karachiites take sigh of relief, thanks to operation ‘Aaj Kamran Khan Kay Sath’ on Wednesday

The News 20 September 2013 KARACHI: Thanks to the operation in Karachi, the people of the city can take a sigh of relief since the rate of crime incidents in the city is going down, said Kamran Khan in his programme ‘Aaj Kamran Khan Kay Sath’ on Wednesday. He said that the sphere of the operation has now extended to include other parts of the country as well since Karachi’s criminal elements have gone to other cities as soon as the operation in Karachi began. However, the agencies are fully alert and that is why an alleged criminal of Lyari, Amin Buledi, was arrested in Lahore last night and today 12 criminals belonging to Karachi were arrested in a hotel and hostel in Murree.Just this evening, unknown motorcyclists shot dead an important leader of the People’s Amn Committee, Zafar Baloch, in Lyari’s Bizenjo Park. Meanwhile, the Rangers, acting on information that the groups involved in extorting money from business people and those who kidnapped people for ransom were hiding in some areas of Lyari, conducted an operation in Lyari’s Baghdadi area in which some criminal elements were killed. Senior reporter of Geo News, Talha Hashmi, while commenting on the death of Zafar Baloch, Karachi situation and Rangers’ operation, said in the programme that Zafar Baloch had been one-time secretary-general of PPP’s district South. Hashmi said that police and Rangers are conducting joint operation. They also conducted a joint operation in Shah Baig Lane of Lyari. In this connection, SSP Bashir Memon told Geo News correspondent that three criminals belonging to the Jabbar Jheengo group were killed during the action while six others were arrested. Police, Rangers and others conducted a joint operation in Sultanabad area of Manghopir last night and killed an important member of the Hakeemullah Mahsud group of the Tehrik-e-Taliban. Kamran Khan said that the people of Karachi are extremely grateful to the Rangers, the police and other security groups whose efforts have led to the improvement in the city’s situation.In another development, the CID, which is the intelligence arm of the police, has issued a list of the wanted people. Talking about the list, special correspondent Syed Arifeen said in the programme that the Red Book issued by the CID has people from 13 defunct organisations, including Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Sipah-e-Sahaba, TTP, Harkatul Mujahideen, Sipah-e-Muhammad and Pasban-e-Islam. In a different segment of the programme, Kamran Khan said that rupee has been on a downward spree, and today the dollar hit the mark of Rs107 a dollar. He said that the dollar has gained seven percent vis-à-vis the rupee in the last three months. The rupee has not fared well against some of the other major currencies. The British pound is trading at Rs170 a pound and the UAE dirham at Rs30 a dirham. The falling rupee suggests that the economy is in dire straits and that the claim that the economy is sound does not stand the test of the market. On the other hand, it is being said that the falling value of the rupee is a political game the bureaucracy is playing at the State Bank of Pakistan. The department concerned with foreign exchange control at the State Bank is a shambles. Zubair Malik, president of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said that the falling rupee vis-à-vis the dollar is a matter of deep concern. People have started saving in dollars because of the falling rupee, and the commercial banks at the moment have more dollars than does the central bank. Meanwhile, rumours have it that the rupee is being devalued according to a plan concerning the agreement Pakistan has had with the IMF. The Finance Ministry, however, has forcefully refuted the allegation. A former adviser on finance, columnist and economist, Saqib Sheerani, said in the programme that there are a couple of factors involved in the devaluation of the rupee. The first among these factors is the falling volume of our foreign exchange reserves and the trend of dollarisation is gaining strength. It has been observed in the last three months that whether it is a real estate transaction or any other major transaction, it is being done either in dollars or in pounds. He said that the State Bank must check this trend. In a different segment of the programme, Kamran Khan, while commenting on the Dir incident, said that the Amir of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Munawar Hassan, in his message condemning the Dir incident, said that those who attacked the soldiers in Dir have in fact fulfilled the agenda of the enemies of Pakistan. The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pervez Khattak, said in the programme that his government strongly condemns the Dir incident. Khattak, however, disagreed with the assertion that the incidents of terrorism are on the rise in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Responding to the question over the soft corner his party allegedly has for militants, Khattak said that he cannot undermine the enormity of the Dir incident, but at the same time he would like to say that the law and order situation in the KP presently is much better than what it was during the previous government when even Asfanyar Wali Khan could not stay in the KP, but now political rallies are taking place in the province openly. He said that his party is against terrorists and it strongly condemns the Dir incident. Kamran Khan said that the country has a very effective law on blasphemy, but at the same time it is also true that misuse of the law is also common. An important development has occurred in this connection. A meeting of the Islamic Ideology Council took place under the leadership of Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani today in which it was said that it is to be recommended to the government that anyone who wrongly charges anyone else of blasphemy should be liable to the same punishment that is meted out to one who is found guilty of blasphemy. Talking to Kamran Khan in this context, religious scholar Javed Ghamdi said that there is a rule in the Sharia that calls for punishment to anyone who wrongfully accuses anyone else of any demeanour.