KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah on Monday directed to take measures to monitor the sale of stolen or snatched mobile phones and vehicles as spare parts or in their complete form in the markets of Karachi.

The chief minister issued the directives while chairing the 31th Apex Committee meeting, which was attended by provincial ministers Sharjeel Memon, Zia Lanjar, Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab, Corps Commander Karachi Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar, DG Ranger Major General Azhar Waqas, IG Police Ghulam Nabi Memon and others, said a statement issued today.

Chairing the 31th Apex Committee meeting here Monday, the chief minister said that police pickets would be established to strengthen the left bank of the River Indus and contain the dacoits within the katcha area. The recovery of ransom from the families of the kidnapped individuals will be considered terror financing and the people involved in facilitating the collection of the ransom amount would be identified through intelligence work to crush them,” the CM said.

Comparative figures for the first three months (January to April) of 2023 and 2024 indicate a decrease in the number of theft cases reported, the statement noted.

In 2024, 15,345 two-wheelers were stolen which is 953 cases less than the 16,298 incidents reported in 2023. Similarly, the theft of four-wheelers decreased by 145 cases with 520 vehicles stolen in 2024 as compared to 665 in 2023. The number of mobile phones snatched also showed a decline, with 6,813 cases reported in 2024 as compared to 8,688 in 2023, indicating a decrease of 1,875 cases.

According to the statistics, there has been a significant increase in the snatching of four-wheelers and two-wheelers. In 2023, 60 two-wheelers were snatched, and this number increased to 80 in 2024. Similarly, 1805 two-wheelers were snatched in 2023, while the number of cases rose to 3094 in 2024.

The meeting was told that the police conducted 467 encounters in 2024. In these encounters, 67 criminals were killed, 489 were injured and 1766 were arrested.

Meanwhile, Sindh CM instructed the IG Police to reactivate the Shaheen Force with a dedicated motorcycle squad of 386 motorcycles. “The squad should patrol the identified hotspots during peak hours, and each SSP should issue and implement a patrolling plan,” he directed.