IBA student claims Rangers manhandled him

Paramilitary force says student was ‘approached’ for photographing sensitive areas

KARACHI: A social sciences student at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) has claimed he was ‘tortured’ by Rangers officials Monday morning ‘for taking pictures of a traffic jam to convince his teacher for being late to class’. On the other hand, Rangers officials have asserted that taking photographs of sensitive locations gives ‘a negative impression’, which is why the student was ‘approached’.

Seventh-semester student Amar Latif Qazi claimed in a Facebook post recently that he was manhandled and subjected to torture by paramilitary personnel near Avari Hotel on October 24 after he took pictures of a traffic jam while heading to IBA.



Qazi told The Express Tribune that he was heading to attend a lecture at the university from his residence in Clifton Block 8. “As soon as I reached Avari Towers on Sharae Faisal at around 10am, the smooth traffic suddenly came to a halt,” he said. “I decided to take pictures so that I will be able to convince my teacher about the reason of my tardiness.”

The student said that while he was taking a picture from his mobile phone, Rangers personnel rushed to his car. “They grabbed me and started pulling me, leaving me in sudden shock as if they have mistaken me for a terrorist,” he said. “I was dragged out of the car and they snatched my mobile. More Rangers personnel started to gather and proceeded to kick and shove with their guns pointed at me.”

Qazi also shared this incident on his social media profile along with pictures of marks of bruises on his body.

“I asked them if I had committed a crime,” he said, adding that he offered them to check him and his car if they were suspicious of terrorism. “But they said that I took a picture while I kept shouting that I took the picture to justify to my teacher and that no law prohibits people from taking pictures in public spaces.” He claimed that he was beaten up by the paramilitary personnel. “After deleting the pictures from my phone, I requested them to let me go,” he said. “But they refused and took me to their nearby office where, after the interference of a high-ranking officer, they set me free.”

Only in Karachi can a ‘police officer’ shoot an unarmed innocent civilian like Abrar

Why he was ‘approached’

The Rangers spokesperson did not respond until the filing of this story.

Nevertheless, an official in the paramilitary force explained that the area where the incident took place is highly sensitive in terms of sensitive installations. He added that citizens should sense the sanity of the prevailing situation when law enforcement agencies are trying their best to counter terrorists and criminals.

He also said that taking photographs of such sensitive areas gives a negative impression, which is why Rangers personnel ‘approached’ the student. The official requested citizens to ensure cooperation during routine checking as “it is only for their own betterment.”

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Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2016.