A special force of 400 highly-trained cops has been deployed at selected places in Karachi to curb street crime, the IGP said on Wednesday.
Speaking with the delegations of the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Shia Action Committee in separate meetings at his office, Iqbal Mehmood said the special force to prevent street crime would rush to the scene if a citizen had been mugged or subjected to another crime and chase the offenders riding high-speed, easy-to-manoeuvre motorcycles.
AIG Karachi Shahid Hayat told The News that members of the force were performing their duties in two shifts on an experimental basis.
“If the move proves to be effective, the number of these cops and their scope would be increased,” he added.
The members of the force are guarding places where street crimes are frequently reported including Bahadurabad and the Old City areas. Apart from that, they will also respond to calls received through the Madadgar 15 service.
Their deployment has been supervised by the DIGs of the police zones concerned. The SP Muhafiz Force is the in-charge of the force.
“We will better equip the force in the coming days,” said Hayat. The force has been equipped with assault rifles and the members can communicate with each other using short-range walkie-talkies. Soon, they will be given protection gear including helmets, bulletproof vests and handguns for close combat.
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