Regarding regional security challenges, Shah said that the threats faced by Pakistan were multiple and complex, as Pakistan was being subjected to fifth-generation or hybrid warfare, which he said requires information superiority through technological means, and propagating a positive image of the country through national and international media. “All this has produced astounding results of improved security in the province, especially in Karachi.”
He also said that new prison laws had been enacted to transform the jails into correctional facilities.
“We have established a Special Security Unit, purchased arms and ammunition, and vehicles in large numbers,” he said, adding that the new police law had been legislated in 2019 to give complete operational autonomy to the police. Talking about the Sindh government’s interventions, the chief minister said that the targeted operation in Karachi had been launched in 2013, while the Pakistan Rangers had also been deployed in the province and the Counter Terrorism Department had been established. He also said that Pakistan’s border management system must also be improved to control unauthorised influx of foreign nationals, and stressed that the international community must do more to house and support Afghan refugees. “Sindh has been most affected by the influx of Afghan nationals over the last four decades, because of which, among other things, there has been deterioration in the law and order situation, and other internal disturbances from time to time.” He said that mass migration of Afghan nationals had been anticipated in Pakistan after the change in the regime in Afghanistan. He also shared the statistics released by the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees in Sindh: 67,028 Afghans have proof of registration, 71,429 Afghan citizens are proper card-holders, and 400,000 are yet to be registered. “Pakistan is not a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees, yet it is home to more than 1.44 million registered Afghan refugees, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.” On the topic of illegal immigrants, Shah said Karachi attracted illegal immigrants from different countries, especially from Afghanistan, Burma and Bangladesh. He said the proliferation of sophisticated weapons also needed to be monitored, so he had directed all the relevant agencies to continue patrolling the unfrequented routes. “Narcotics have indirectly been involved in terror financing,” he said, adding that better coordination was required among intelligence, military, LEAs and provincial governments in order to bring this menace to an end.
The CM said Karachi was a lucrative place for an illicit drug market because of it being a mega city as well as an international conduit for narcotics. “The Government of Sindh has conducted 26 meetings of the apex committee with tangible outcomes, such as the Karachi Operation taken to its logical end, and now Karachi is by and large a peaceful city,” he said, adding that the city has hosted many international and domestic cricket tournaments including the Pakistan Super League. He added that his government was actively implementing the NAP points under the Provincial Apex Committee framework. He said that a 20-point National Action Plan (NAP) for the purpose of countering terrorism and extremism had been chalked out during an all-party conference in 2014. On the subject of terrorism, the chief executive said that the overall law and order situation in Sindh was satisfactory, but the fast-changing regional security environment required the law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) operating in the province to be extra vigilant to ensure peace and stability. The participants included officers of the Pakistan Armed Forces, 23 civil servants, and a large number of senior military officers from 15 different countries of the world. Shah made these statements on Tuesday while addressing a 230-memberĭelegation comprising participants of the National Defence University’s National Security & War Course 2022, and led by Major General Rahat Naseem Ahmed Khan at the Banquet Hall of the CM House. “The post-Covid international scenario has lowered the risk outlook for Pakistan, and the CPEC opportunities have made Sindh a better destination, promising healthy returns on investment with the ease of doing business and high-impact sustainable business growth.”