KARACHI: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday ordered Karachi police to immediately arrest over 33,000 criminals absconding in the city and to start a campaign for recovery of illegal arms.
A five-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was hearing the Karachi law and order suo motu implementation case at Supreme Court’s Karachi registry on Friday.
The apex court also ordered police to present details about arrests made so far in the on-going targeted operations in Karachi.
Moreover, the court also sought details about slain police officers who were involved in 1992 and 1996 Karachi operations.
The court orders came after Prosecutor General Shahadat Awan informed the court that over 33,000 absconders have been at large in Karachi, and nearly 1500 of them were wanted in terrorism cases.
During the proceedings, the Chief Justice remarked that crime rate could have come down had the police shown a little sincerity.
“All this would not have taken place had the government purged police of politics,” the Chief Justice observed.