PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS
The authorities have compiled a list of 32 sector and unit offices of the MQM which have been constructed on amenity plots such as schools, public parks and inside government-run institutions. The MQM has divided Karachi into 26 sectors with nearly 200 unit offices spread across the metropolis.
Since the crackdown began against the MQM on Wednesday, 10 such offices have so far been demolished in Karachi. Five of them were demolished in Bhains Colony, Quaidabad, Tariq Bin Ziyad Society in Malir, Mosamiyat and Ahsanabad on Thursday while five more were bulldozed on Friday in Gulshan-e-Iqbal and Gulistan-e-Jauhar.
The MQM offices which are on the list to be demolished are located in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Lines Area, Jacob Lines, Shahnawaz Bhutto Colony, Madina Road, Soldier Bazaar, Garden East, Jamshed Quarters, Fatima Jinnah Colony, PECHS and Jheel Park.
These offices are all located in District East alone. Similar lists are being prepared for other districts of Karachi, Karachi Development Authority’s (KDA) official Jamil Baloch told The Express Tribune.
He added the KDA and Karachi Metropolitan Cooperation (KMC) were demolishing the offices under the security of police and Rangers. All other MQM sector and unit offices across Karachi have been sealed by the authorities.
Apart from the MQM offices being sealed, portraits of MQM founder Altaf Hussain have also been removed from all over Karachi and other cities in Sindh.
The posters of the MQM leader, which adorned Hyderabad’s roads and squares for over two decades, were taken down after unidentified people began removing the banners, billboards and pictures of Altaf from Latifabad on Thursday.
To the amazement and chagrin of antagonists and supporters, respectively, the exercise progressed smoothly after starting from the party’s strongholds, including Pucca Qila, Hyder Chowk and Qadam Gah Moula Ali.
The Hyderabad Municipal Corporation reportedly received directives from the provincial government for the removal of banners and posters of the MQM chief.
Rumours about demolition of the MQM’s offices allegedly built on encroached land in public places and inside government buildings also kept circulating. However, Deputy Commissioner Mutassan Abbasi clarified they have not yet received any directives from the provincial government for knocking down the structures.
Meanwhile, the MQM lawmakers reposed their trust in the leadership of Dr Farooq Sattar, who took over the command of the Karachi-based party on Tuesday.
In a meeting at Ghanchi Hall in PIB Colony – the temporary headquarters of the MQM, the party’s MNAs, MPAs and senators claimed there was no other way but to run the party from Pakistan.
Female suspects caught
Police have arrested three women of the MQM for their involvement in the attack on ARY News office of Monday.
The paramilitary Rangers also arrested three more MQM workers allegedly involved in targeted killings on the orders of MQM’s London secretariat. Rehan Ali alias Chikna, Zubair alias Acchu and Javed were said to be involved in various homicides and weapons were also found on them.
The paramilitary Rangers also arrested three more MQM workers allegedly involved in targeted killings on the orders of MQM’s London secretariat. Rehan Ali alias Chikna, Zubair alias Acchu and Javed were said to be involved in various homicides and weapons were also found on them.
However, MQM MNA Asif Hasnain, who was arrested from the airport on Thursday, was released from custody.
Three more MQM leaders and 36 workers were remanded in police custody in two cases related to sedition, anti-state offences and attack on media houses. The administrative judge of anti-terrorism courts granted their custody and also directed the police to provide medical treatment to two detained party leaders and four other suspects.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2016.
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