Electoral lists at some polling stations mysteriously disappeared, while voters were also misguided by workers of rival candidates. The youth, many of whom were first-time voters, were a prime target for misinformation, as were the elderly.

The Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf alleged that both PML-N and JI workers were actively misguiding PTI supporters at several polling stations.

Deviating from the standard procedure of setting up a polling station for 700 to 1,000 voters, the Election Commission of Pakistan established a polling station in Golra Sharif in Islamabad to accommodate as many as 6,000 voters. In every sub-sector of the main sectors of Islamabad, there were three to four polling stations, but residents of sectors E-11/1, 2 and E-11/3 and of adjacent suburbs had to cast their vote at the Golra polling station, next to the home of PML-N candidate Anjum Aqeel Khan, who won the 2008 elections from the same constituency (NA-48).

According to female PTI voters in NA-48, some burqa-clad female supporters of PML-N blocked PTI voters waiting in the queue from going inside the station. They alleged that the polling station was set up in Golra with the intention of making it easier for the PML-N to rig the polls.

“At certain times, when our voters reached at the door of the polling station, the PML-N workers tore down the chits they had obtained from outside inscribed with the serial number of our electoral number,” said Atika Afzal, a supporter of PTI.

“The presiding officer did not have the voters’ lists. It is 3:00pm now and I have been waiting here since 9:00am but the list still hasn’t come. Polling was stopped for one hour because the presiding officer was asking voters whom they are going to vote for,” said Saima Bukhari, a resident of Gulrez.

Senior Superintendent Police Operation Mujahid Akbar ordered police officers to arrest those who were asking voters who they would vote for, but it is unclear whether any arrests were actually made.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2013.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Karachi president Dr Arif Alvi, also a candidate for NA-250, accused the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) of hijacking the elections.

“MQM activists were deliberately selected as polling staff so they would not turn up on time and create a shortage of staff,” he alleged. “Ballot boxes and stamps reached stations after three hours,” he said, a view echoed by many voters.

PTI liaison cell head Asad Umar said they had registered over 800 complaints with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), a majority of which were regarding rigging by rival parties.

Leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and various religious leaders also condemned rigging in various parts of Pakistan.  PML-N spokesperson Senator Pervez Rasheed said the party was planning on compiling a list of complaints that have been filed with the ECP.

The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), which announced a boycott of Karachi polls while voting was still ongoing, has called for a shutter-down strike on May 13 to protest the extensive rigging in Karachi and Hyderabad.

The Awami National Party (ANP) Sindh announced three days of mourning over the death of its activists in the Landhi blast but appealed to its activists to remain peaceful.

The MQM, which was accused of rigging by both PTI and JI, also expressed disappointment with the electoral process and decided to boycott the NA-248 Lyari seat.

Earlier in the day, MQM deputy convener Farooq Sattar held a press conference in which he said that rigging was being conducted at his constituency and demanded a re-polling in NA-250, since voting in several polling stations did not start until 3pm.

PTI and PML-N also alleged rigging in parts of the Punjab as well. Polling at NA-125 in Lahore was halted for three hours as PTI voters protested against PML-N candidate Khawaja Saad Rafique for allegedly interfering in the polling process.

Several people at the polling station in DHA said Rafique arrived with as many as 30 supporters and entered into a fight with the election staff at the women’s polling booth.

Meanwhile, Sher Ali Gorchani, a candidate of PML-N for PP 248, was arrested in a joint police and army operation after he tried to flee with ballot papers and ballot boxes. Stamps and 40 ballot papers were recovered as a result of the raid.

According to PTI voters in NA-48, Islamabad, some female supporters of PML-N attempted to physically block PTI voters from moving ahead in the queue.

Dozens of complaints were registered by PTI workers against PML-N workers and polling staff at Rawal Cadet College and Government Girls High School Rahmat Abad polling stations over alleged rigging.

Meanwhile, chief of the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) Talal Akbar Bugti announced a complete boycott of the election, terming it a fraud.

Talking to reporters, he said the elections were neither free nor fair and claimed that the winners were pre-decided.

“We had informed the chief election commissioner, chief justice of Pakistan and Balochistan chief secretary about the planned fraud during the elections,” Bugti said.

Meanwhile, BNP-Awami central secretary general and candidate for PB 42 and 43 Asad Baloch termed the polls in Panjgur a ‘joke’, and demanded a re-election.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2013.

KARACHI: Another ten people lost their lives in Karachi over the last 24 hours in what appeared to be an unending cycle of target shootings.

The killings happened with a concomitant rise in rioting in parts of the city as the government dithered on whether or not to launch a crackdown.

This time around, the visit of Interior Minister Rehman Malik appears to have not borne any fruit. He went into a huddle with top Sindh government functionaries to consider ways to stem the tide of violence. Then he also visited Nine-Zero and Mardan House.

But all this effort scarcely translated into a silencing of guns. Unlike his previous trips following spates of target killings – when he would meet coalition partners in the Sindh government and the killings would come to a stop – his dash to the metropolis this time failed to do the trick. The situation, in fact, is going from bad to worse.

On previous occasions, the provincial administration gave full powers to Rangers against criminals, and that seemed to have had the desired effect. However, this time the Rangers enjoyed these powers already but the killing spree is going on regardless.

Five among those killed on Sunday were “well-wishers” of the ANP and one MQM activist.

Orangi Town locality remained the city’s tinderbox because of its ethnic mix. In one incident, target-killers attacked a dump-truck at Islam Chowk and killed both its driver and conductor. Then, within a distance of one kilometre from this spot, the killers struck again, spraying truck driver Nisar Khan and cleaner Abdul Wahid with bullets. Both were pronounced dead on arrival at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Their bodies were later dispatched to Dir.

In one more incident, ANP member Sahib Ali was gunned down in Khadda Market right in front of his house. ANP spokesperson Abdul Malik, however, said the killers entered his house and shot him dead.  In the same locality, Javaid Noor was also gunned down. Police said he was also an ANP activist.

In another incident, a man was shot dead by unidentified armed men at Lyari Town in the jurisdiction of Chakiwara police station. The deceased was identified as Fateh Sher. Police said he was a member of a Lyari gang allied to Rehman Dakait’s commander Mullah Sultan.

Police found the bullet-riddled body of a young man, apparently a Bengali, from the bushes in Sector 51-D, Korangi in Zaman Town police precincts.

Taj Rehman was killed when unidentified assailants opened fire on a passenger bus, killing Rehman and injuring three other passengers at Qalandaria Chowk within the limits of Sharah-e-Noor Jahan police station.

Separately, culprits opened indiscriminate fire at the Quetta Sardar Hotel, killing Bashir Khan and injuring Jalal Khan in the jurisdiction of Samanabad police station. Bashir Khan was an activist of the Awami National Party and the party’s media wing condemned his assassination.

One MQM worker Abdul Malik, son of Afzal, was gunned down in Baldia No 9 in the precincts of Mochko police station. Police have arrested an ANP worker Zahid from the Quaidabad locality in this connection.

Noor Hussain was shot dead in a firing incident within the limits of Mobina Town police station.

In the aftermath of the killing, unidentified persons torched a passenger wagon in Gulshan-e-Iqbal police precincts.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2010.

KARACHI: It appears that people who had purchased land under the Deh-89 housing scheme, a part of the Sindh Jamait Cooperative Housing Society (SJCHS), are unable to access their own land.

A group of land grabbers has taken over 95 plots, demarcated on 20 acres of land on the National Highway, and are allegedly threatening owners to stop coming back if they want to protect their lives.

SJCHS had acquired 50 acres in Bin Qasim town in 1970 after which, two housing projects had been initiated on the land. The allotment of the plots at Deh-89 started in the late 1990s, after the Deh-90 housing scheme, initiated on 30 acres of land, was completed, SJCHS president Badaruddin Sheikh told The Express Tribune.

He added that 95 plots had been issued to applicants under the Deh-89 scheme but the land had been taken over forcibly by members of the land mafia in stages.

While 12 acres of land had been grabbed earlier by some residents of Sharafi Goth and Malir and were made a part of Sharafi Goth, the remaining eight acres of land were also taken over forcibly by workers under Sohail Dada, a member of the peace committee, Sheikh alleged, who added that Dada has grabbed the entire stretch of land and was not letting anyone build homes in the area.

“At the time [when the scheme was initiated], people did not immediately start building houses on their plots. Now that they want to, land grabbers are not letting them,” said Sheikh.

The current price of the plots ranges between Rs0.8 million to Rs1.2 million, he revealed.

“Whenever we go to Deh-89, encroachers say that the land belongs to them and if we value our lives, we should stay away from the area,” one of the people who purchased land in Deh-89 told The Express Tribune. He wished to remain anonymous.

“I do not want to indulge in arguments or fights with criminals. It is the society’s duty to help us out,” he went on to say.

Plots allocated for a mosque and a park are also part of the land that has been grabbed by Dada’s men, representatives of SJCHS revealed, who added that they were under a lot of pressure as they were receiving threats from encroachers and were also being hassled by people whose land had been grabbed. “What can we do? They are part of one of the most influential gangs in the city,” said Sheikh, who blamed the provincial government and the city police for “protecting the criminals”.

“For our part, we knocked on  every possible door to get justice. We complained to the TPO of Shah Latif Town. We sent applications to the chief minister and the home minister but no one paid any attention to our requests,” said SJCHS’s Muhammad Khan Sial.

Furthermore, the area police also allegedly refused to receive SJCJH’s complaints through the courier TCS.

“We were sent back our letters, mailed to the police through the TCS. The delivery man said that no one at the police station was ready to receive our letter,” said Sheikh.

Shah Latif Town police officials claimed, however, that no land has been grabbed in the area.

“We went to the site with members of the society but did not see any illegal activity in the area,” one police official claimed. “How can we arrest someone without any proof?”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2010.

KARACHI: In the city of Karachi, murders take place on a routine basis – often rooted in notions of sectarianism, political affiliation or simply due to ethnicity. Then there are gang-wars, and even ‘personal enmities.’ Yet some murders still shock the senses – such as one that took place on Saturday.

The owner of a milkshop, a father to four, was shot dead in cold blood – not by a rival sect, or because he was politically affiliated, but instead because he chose to keep a distance from such issues.

Forty-year-old Atta Muhammad was gunned down upon refusal to participate in a political rally and close his business for the purpose. The suspects, allegedly members of Punjabi Pakhtoon Ittehad, wanted him to protest the picking up of a political worker by law-enforcement agencies in Shamsi Society within the jurisdiction of the Alfalah police station.

According to the police, the party organised a rally against the arrest of their associate, Shahid alias Kochi. The party activists are alleged to have opened fire at the milkman when he refused to take part in their protest or shut his shop – choosing instead to stay away from such activities.

Atta Muhammad, son of Kamaluddin, was a resident of the same area and had been running his shop there for a long time. He left behind four children and a widow to grieve his loss, and wonder what he had done wrong.

His body was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for legal formalities and later handed over to his family.

The police, meanwhile, have yet to file an FIR – of just another murder in Karachi.

Shia men attacked, one dies

Two Shia men were targeted in the city in separate incidents on Saturday – with one of them dying on the spot after being shot at point blank range outside his house, while the other remains in critical condition at the hospital.

A 21-year-old part-time student, Hammad Hussain, son of Murtaza Ali, was shot dead near Sir Syed College in Rizvia Society within the jurisdiction of Rizvia police station.

According to police officials, Hussain was parking his car in the house when a motorcyclist shot him thrice at point blank range. The assailant managed to escape while Hussain died on the spot.

His body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for an autopsy and later handed over to his family. Hussain was a resident of house number E-2 and used to deal in used cars, said spokesperson for the Jaffaria Alliance Pakistan, Ali Ahmer.

His family did not have any personal enmity with anyone and believe that his murder is part of the sectarian killings.

Rizvia society remained tense following the murder and so did other Shia-dominated localities in the city. Shops closed down in Rizvia society and residents thought it better to remain indoors.

Another member of the Shia sect was severely beaten up, allegedly by activists of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, in Hasan Colony Gulbahar on Saturday.

He was moved to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where he is said to be in critical condition.

According to police, the victim, Adnan Ali Jafferi, was coming out of an imambargah in the area when four men attacked him. They assaulted him and then fled the scene.

Jafferi sustained severe injuries to the head and neck.

The incident took place as people were leaving the imambargah after an allegedly provocative speech was delivered on loud speakers, said the Special Investigation Office at Gulbahar Police Station, Shafiq Tanoli. Police have filed an FIR, 464/2010, against unidentified persons. Later, they arrested four members of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat after conducting raids in Hasan Colony and New Karachi. Those arrested included Asghar, Ashraf, Qasim and Dilawar. Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat spokesperson Qari Ihsan, however, rebuffed allegations that his party was involved. He confirmed that some members of the party have been arrested but said that they had been released later on.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2010.

Tensions ran high in Shah Faisal Colony as two activists of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were gunned down on Thursday in two separate incidents – both of which occurred in the same area.

One of the workers, 25-year-old Zeeshan alias Shano, son of Moinuddin, was killed at Colony Gate within the jurisdiction of Shah Faisal Colony police station on Thursday afternoon.

Zeeshan worked at MQM’s unit number 105 in Shah Faisal No. 4.

According to the police investigators, Zeeshan was travelling in his car (AEP-542) when some unidentified motorcyclists opened fire at him and escaped from the site.

Zeeshan was shot once in his chest from a distance of 14 metres, said the medico-legal officer at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

Earlier, the law and order situation in various parts of the city had already worsened when an MQM activist was shot dead in Shah Faisal Colony No. 4 early Thursday.

Violence erupted in different parts of the city when Waqar alias Teelo, son of Khuda Bukshm was gunned down.

Waqar’s funeral prayers were performed at a mosque in Jama Masjid Hanfia and he was buried at the Azeem Pura graveyard.

Several people took to the streets and torched vehicles, restaurants and even resorted to aerial firing. The areas affected worst by these riots were Shah Faisal No. 1 and No. 4, Azeem Pura, Alfalah, Malir-15 and Millat Town.

A police constable, Zulfiqar, son of Pyara Khan, also sustained bullet injuries in Shah Faisal Colony while he was on duty. Zulfiqar was deployed in the city from Police Headquarters in Malir.

According to the police and eyewitnesses, all shops were closed down in Shah Faisal No. 1 and No. 4, Colony gate, Goli Maar, some parts of Lalu Khait and surrounding areas.

Even though heavy contingents of police have been deployed in the area, the situation remained tensed.

Some rioters even blocked roads by burning tyres and forcing shops to remain closed.

A Shehzore truck (LSA-6406) was also set ablaze by rioters. Kakar and Super Kakar restaurants were burnt and their workers were also injured in the riots. Taj Juice centre, a popular hangout in Shah Faisal Colony was also burnt down.

Six juice vendors were also harassed and their carts were damaged. Rioters also set fire to three motorcycles.

The angry mob at Shah Faisal Colony pelted stones at two passenger buses breaking their windows. Their drivers managed to escape, said an eyewitness.

SP Tanveer Alam insisted that the police have been making all efforts. “We have managed to control the situation in most parts of the city but the situation in some areas still remains tense,” Alam said.

He added that a heavy contingent of the police and Rangers have been sent to Shah Faisal Colony. The police have yet to register an FIR.

After the series of sectarian killings in the city, political killings have also restarted. Parties, such as MQM, Jamaat-i-Islami, Pakistan Peoples Party and Jeay Sindh have lost members in the past three days.

Meanwhile an activist of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat was also injured by firing. Babu was shot Thursday evening by unidentified armed men near Jinnah Square within the jurisdiction of Saudabad police station. He was rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where doctors said that his condition was stable.

Rangers arrest over 70 suspects

Sindh Rangers carried out search operations in different areas of Karachi, including Korangi, Kati Pahar and Surjani Town, on Thursday and arrested over 70 persons. They have been handed over to the relevant police stations for investigations.

The spokesperson for Pakistan Rangers said that the search operation has been designed to rid the city of weapons as well as criminal elements.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2010.

KARACHI: A report on the escape of suspected under trial militants from the City Courts in Karachi last week has put forward some glaring evidence that points towards compliance on the part of one of the UTPs’ escorts – who was already under investigation for allowing a UTP to escape earlier.

Imran Nazir, the policeman who was tasked with handling the alleged militants of Jundullah, Mohammad Shakaib Farooqi, Wazir Mohammad, Murad Shah and Murtaza, also known as Shakil, during their court hearing on June 19, may face prosecution after the accused men managed to escape from the City Courts on Saturday, a member of the investigative committee, formed to probe into circumstances of the escape, informed The Express Tribune on Thursday.

The investigation report – pointing out that the incident occurred at 3:10 pm while the UTPs had already had their hearing by 1 pm – questioned why the UTPs were made to wait in the compound for over two hours, calling it ‘inexplicable’. It also said that Nazir, who claimed that he had fired shots with his own gun, had failed to explain why he had done so and whether his gun had been snatched by the criminals in the incident or not. Nazir, it said, had taken refuge in a bathroom to save his own life instead of securing the UTPs, and later failed to provide details of what took place that day.

The report also put forward the fact that Nazir had accompanied the same UTPs to five out of seven hearings for various cases within the month of June and questioned why Nazir, who is yet to be cleared of charges of allowing a UTP to escape earlier, was assigned the duty of handling UTPs yet again.

The police had also found a mobile phone from Murad Shah’s pockets after he was shot dead by head constable Mohammad Mansha during an encounter outside the court – which provided evidence that the escape of the UTPs was made possible with help from security officials, it was further stated.

The report also provided procedural details. According to the standard Court Police practice – which calls for one policeman to hold the handcuffs of the accused while the other keeps guard of the Under Trial Prisoners (UTP) – four accused men were handed over to Nazir and Shahbaz, officials of the Court Police, at around 10:30 am on Saturday after the jail authorities were asked to provide the accused men with guards, it was stated in the investigation report.

While Shahbaz was armed with an SMG issued by the government, Nazir was carrying his own TT pistol while accompanying the UTPs from the Central jail to the lock-up in the City Courts where the UTPs were to wait before they were presented before the court, the report went on to say.

The UTPs were asked to appear before the court at 12pm. After the court proceedings ended at 1 pm, they were accompanied by Nazir and Shahbaz to wait in the court’s compound before they were to be taken to the lock-up and then returned to the Central Jail.

The UTPs were made to wait in the compound for over two hours, and a hand grenade exploded outside the city court at 3:10, after which the criminals approached the UTPs, shot dead Shahzad, and succeeded in escaping with the UTPs, it was further stated. Meanwhile, the role of security officials, deployed at the three exits of the court’s premises, was also questioned in the report.

The gate near Bilal Mosque, which opens on the Tahir Saifuddin Road, was identified as the prisoners’ escape route. The report questioned the activities of the police official who was deployed there.

Farooq, the police official who was standing at the gate near Bilal Mosque, claimed that he had left his post to check what had happened inside the court when the first hand grenade had exploded, allowing the prisoners to escape. Farooq’s statement could not be supported by any accounts by eyewitnesses, it was stated in the report, which held him accountable for negligence.

Alam, another official who was deployed at the gate near the lock-up in the court, was on leave for the day, while the authorities had failed to send a replacement for his post, it was also revealed in the report.

“The report has questioned the dedication of some officials to their work,” a CID official stated. “We have investigated things realistically and the police have accepted their responsibility in the incident. It will help avoid such incidents in the future,” he went on to say.

If the Court Police had been vigilant in its duties, the recurrent incidents of escape by UTPs could have been avoided, it was stated in the report.

The police also needs to be provided with trained staff to prevent such situations in the future, it was added.

The report concluded by lauding the efforts of ASI Sher Mohammad, HC Mohammad Mansha and PC Tariq Anjum who did their best in the attempt to prevent the escape of the UTPs.

The report was prepared by DIG South Iqbal Mehmood, DIG East Abdul Khalique Sheikh and IG Prison Ghulam Qadir with the help of a special investigative unit and input from CID officials. “People who did not perform their duties will have to face the law,” said an official from the  CID who was also asked to contribute in the preparation of a report on the incident that was completed on Thursday, June 24.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2010.

KARACHI: Terror once again hit the city as firing incidents were reported in Shah Faisal Colony while one MQM activist and one other person was killed on Thursday.

During search operation in different areas of Karachi, rangers arrested 62 suspects and illegal arms were also  recovered.

Gunfires were reported from various areas of the city since morning. Businesses in Orangi, Shah Faisal Town, Dal Mian, North Nazimabad and the Lines Area have shut down. Miscreants burnt various tea hotels, kiosks and three motorbikes.

Security has been stepped up in these areas, as police officials and rangers conduct search operations and raids.

Twenty-three year old Irfan Chandio is arguing with three police constables at Bilawal Chowk. He has been asked by them to show his documents, including his driving license. People keep walking by, cars keep turning the roundabout. No one gives them a second look. The Szabist student and his two classmates have only two options – either show their documents or go to the police station.

Arguments flow from both sides and after ten minutes they shake hands and the youngsters are allowed to leave with the warning that they should be “careful”.

“I gave him five hundred rupees to save my skin,” Irfan says with a shrug of his shoulders.

Chandio is one of the hundreds of young people who are harassed by the police each day across Karachi. Cops stop them for a quick check, demand their papers and then let them go after a little exchange.

“I have a driving license, which I left at home,” said Chandio, who is a computer science student. “My friends and I were just going to have dinner.” They weren’t carrying any weapons or drugs and even showed the policemen their student cards and National Identity Cards. But the officers were insisting on taking them to the police station. “This has not happened for the first time,” says Chandio. “We are used to it by now.”

His friend Jaleel Abbas sneers. “They don’t want to uphold the law,” he says while referring to the policemen. “They just want to warm their pockets.”

It’s not just young men who get stopped. It is not uncommon for constables to stop cars with girls and boys in them. Ambreen, a student at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, recalls how she and her friends were flagged down while on their way to French Beach. “They asked for the driving license and when he showed it, they started inquiring about where and why we were going,” Ambreen says. “We explained everything but they asked us to record our statements at the police station and threatened to contact our parents.” The wrangling continued for an hour before the police let them go for Rs2,000 for “chai paani” and a warning not to go out late at night.

For their part, the police have another story to tell. They argue that young people abuse traffic laws, drink and drive and do drugs. SP Clifton Tariq Razzak Dharijo tells The Express Tribune that the police do not want to harass youngsters but want to make them abide by the law. “If someone drives without a silencer or is drunk, it is the duty of the police to arrest him or fine him,” he says. “Youngsters are usually involved in such incidents.”

According to the records of the Clifton Traffic Police, only 109 youngsters have been fined over the last one year. “We also have to check cars and bikes because of security concerns,” adds the SP.

Young people argue however that once the officer has stopped the car and seen for himself that they are just on their way somewhere, are not carrying any weapons or drugs and are not inebriated, then there is no justifiable reason to keep them. If indeed they are stopped just for a security check then why do the police inevitably accept a bribe.

One couple was driving by Bagh-e-Ibn-e-Qasim in Clifton when the young man decided to show his fiancee how to stop the car by using the handbrake to avoid an accident. The police were in one of the small new Altos that the force recently acquired. “They drove right up to us and stopped head-on,” said the man.

“Get out of the car,” said one of the four officers to the man.

When he asked why, the policeman’s tone turned menacing. “Get out! Do as I say!” When the man pointed out that there was a woman in the car, the policeman said that he would speak to him at the side.  The problem was that this couple by nature of their professions dealt with the law-enforcement agencies on a regular basis and knew that the police had no right to stop and question them like that.

After a few names were dropped and the policemen were given a lesson in the law, the couple left.  “All I kept thinking was that while this hadn’t fazed us,” said the woman, “it would have definitely scared any other young person. The police were so rude to us. There was no reason, absolutely no reason to talk to us like that.”

Published in the Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2010.