Liaison with Business Community Sindh Police to Have a Focal Person in Every District Atif Ikram Sheikh, President FPCCI

Karachi: Mr. Atif Ikram Sheikh, President FPCCI, has apprised that Mr. Ghulam Nabi Memon, Inspector General of the Sindh Police, has agreed to the principled demand of FPCCI to nominate a focal person from business community over law & order; in order to facilitate and protect economic activities and investments in the province.

It is pertinent to note that the IG Sindh, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Memon, paid a detailed visit to the apex body’s head office in Federation House, Karachi – along with top officers of the force. The purpose of the engagement was to forge the liaison with the business community; give them the a sense of security and answer their apprehensions vis-à-vis law & order.

Mr. Atif Ikram Sheikh demanded that safe city project for Karachi needs to be expedited to address the burning of issue of street crimes and bring Karachi at par with other economically-significant cities of the world; where domestic and international investors feel secure to establish industries.

Mr. Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, SVP FPCCI, maintained that Karachi, as a matter of fact, is safer than many other cities of the world; but, it is unfortunately a victim of negative publicity. Therefore, he proposed, Sindh Police and FPCCI should jointly organize a seminar to project the soft, business-friendly and progressive face of the city to the world.

Mian Zahid Hussain, Chairman of FPCCI’s Policy Advisory Board (FPCCI-PAB), informed that FPCCI is conducting research on district economies of all major districts; aimed at exploring the economic, investment, commercial and export potential of the same. He proposed that the Sindh Police can connect an officer of the force in each district with FPCCI-PAB to help carry out the research.

Mr. Ahmed Chinoy, former CPLC Chief, elaborated that the police constables discharge their duties without proper protective gear, transportation facilities and other basic human necessities; hence, it is unfair and impractical to expect them to demonstrate their top performance in those circumstances. They should be treated at par with other agencies to enable them fight the crime with their full capabilities and functionalities of a modern law enforcement, he added.

Mr. Khalid Tawab, former SVP FPCCI, highlighted that citizen police liaison committee (CPLC) is not as active like it has been or it should be. Additionally, the restriction on Chinese investors to have a bullet-proof vehicle before leaving the city causes delays as the same are not readily available in the required numbers.

Mr. Ghulam Nabi Memon, IG Sindh Police, informed the high-profile gathering of trade and industry that crime is on the decline in the city as fatal or injury-related street crimes or robberies have come down from 2.5 per day on an average in January 2024 to less than 1 in September 2024.

Mr. Ghulam Nabi Memon has invited President FPCCI and his delegation to the police headquarters to present them the statistics on crimes; technology adoption measures and avenues for cooperation between police and the business community.

The event also saw the certificate distribution by the hands of IG Sindh, President FPCCI and Mr. S. M. Tanverr, patron-in-chief UBG, to acknowledge the members of the trading community; who have played pivotal role in liaison with the law enforcement and cooperation in maintaining law & order 

Brig Iftikhar Opel, SI (M), Retd.
Secretary General