US keeping close tabs on Karachi situation: Kirby

State Dept spokesperson says Washington is monitoring arrests of MQM leaders

Amid ongoing political wrangling in Karachi, the United States has said it is ‘closely’ monitoring recent developments related to the arrests of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leaders.

The remarks from US State Department spokesperson John Kirby in a daily press briefing on Saturday came hours after the arrest and release of MQM leader Khawaja Izharul Hasan.

“We’re monitoring those events very closely. We’re aware that Pakistani security forces have arrested some MQM members allegedly involved in violent protests and that these operations have included the closure and demolition of offices deemed to have been illegally constructed,” he said while replying to a question.



The reporter had asked for Kirby’s assessment of the situation in Karachi with regards to the MQM’s claims of extrajudicial killings, human rights violations against its workers.

Asked if any MQM leaders have approached the State Department to convey their concerns, Kirby said he was not aware of any specific instances. But the US authorities, he added, routinely communicate with Pakistani counterparts about issues like this.

MQM lawmaker Izhar, who also leads the opposition in Sindh Assembly, was arrested and released five hours later in a rare move by the Sindh police that triggered a political firestorm on Friday. Both the provincial chief minister and the prime minister had to intervene in the high-profile arrest by SSP Rao Anwar in a clear effort to ease the tension between the government and MQM.

On another question about Pakistan’s renewed effort to raise the Kashmir issue on international forums, Kirby said the US wanted to see India and Pakistan to sit together and work out a solution bilaterally.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2016.