Sindh govt to register madrassas as educational institutions

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday chaired a meeting of Sindh Apex Committee at Chief Minister House attended by senior civil and military officials.

Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah, Adviser on Law Murtaza Wahab, Corp Commander Karachi Lt. General Humayun Aziz, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, Director-General Rangers, and Inspector General Police and other officials were present in the meeting.

During the meeting, it was decided to register madrassas across the province as educational institutes with the Sindh Education and Literacy Department.  The chief minister said there are 8,195 seminaries and imambargahs in the province which play an important role in providing free education to the people.

Inspector General of Sindh Police briefed the session on the implementation of 16 points of National Action Plan. The police chief and Secretary transport briefed the meeting about the installation of trackers in motorbikes. The apex committee meeting also decided to install CCTV cameras at all entry and exit points of the port city.

The provincial law secretary briefed the participants on legislation regarding street crime. The chief minister suggested introducing laws that guarantee strict punishments to criminals.

Murtaza Wahab told the meeting that the law department is consulting with the Sindh High Court (SHC) to legislate new laws to eliminate street crime.

The meeting was briefed that 12 projects of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) are under construction in Sindh with the help of 2500 Chinese workers, while 136 non-CPEC projects are underway in Sindh with 488 foreign workers.

The chief minister directed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to restore services at Mai Bakhtawar Airport in Mithi.

The Apex Committee meeting also discussed progress on Karachi Safe City Project, current security situation, and mainstreaming of riverine forest areas. The meeting was informed that a security audit has been completed of 344 locations in the province including shrines and tombs.

IGP Sindh informed that 16 police stations have been set up on the border with Punjab and Balochistan to stop the movement of authorised persons during the month of Muharram and 1,072 policemen have been deployed and 22 cars and eleven motorcycles have been allocated to them.