MQM-P candidate main accused in attack on Bilawal's convoy

Over 450 persons nominated in FIR against attack on Bilawal's caravan a day earlier

KARACHI: A Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) candidate for PS-107 is among the 13 persons nominated in the FIR registered against the rioting incident in Lyari on Sunday, which occurred as the convoy of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari entered the area to launch his election campaign.

Around a hundred protesters, mostly young men, blocked the road and pelted the PPP leader's vehicles with sticks and stones as his convoy was passing through the Agra Taj area. Once considered a stronghold of the Pakistan Peoples Party, the incident elicited a sharp response from the party's leadership, which accused the caretaker setup of failing to provide adequate security arrangements.



Later on Sunday night, police registered a case against over 400 suspects, without making any arrests. The MQM-P candidate, Rafiq Hingoro, is one of the 13 suspects identified in the FIR, No. 183/18, registered under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act as well as sections 147, 148, 149, 268, 341,353 and 427 of the CrPC. The others include Haji Bawa, Ismail, Naveed, Kamran, Adam, Kashan, Omar Ada - who is affiliated with Sindhi nationalist parties, Siddique, Imran, Rasheed, Karim and Kabeer Hingoro. The latter is a councilor for Lyari's UC-2, Ward 4, and is also affiliated with the MQM-P.

The most interesting part of the incident that unfolds in the script of the FIR is the statement of Kalri Police Station SHO Abdul Ghaffar, who is the complainant. He narrates that he was on a routine patrol in the area when he came to know that Bilawal's convoy was enroute. When he reached the site, he found the main road blocked by protesters, who were shouting slogans against Bilawal. "I reached the blockade and tried to convince them, however, the suspects abused me and started rioting," the complainant narrated.

"The suspects pelted the convoy with stones, injuring three people, including a police officer, as well as causing damage to the [vehicles in Bilawal's convoy] and police mobiles," he said.

The officer added that the suspects later managed to escape, taking advantage of the narrow streets.

SIO Abdul Waheed, who has been handed the investigation of the case, told The Express Tribune that he did not know which Rafiq Hingoro the FIR was referring to. "You will have to ask the SHO about that," he said, adding that the investigation wing was not even told about the appearance of the suspects nominated in the FIR yet. The SHO, on the other hand, was unavailable for comment.



Meanwhile, a resident of Hingorabad, who wished not to be named, told The Express Tribune that though SHO Waheed was listed as the complainant in the FIR, the real brains behind it were PPP leaders Nabil Gabol and Jawed Nagori. "The SHO has only recently taken charge of the post and doesn't know much about the area," he said. "All the names were provided by Nagori and Gabol."

For his part, the MQM-P candidate Hingoro, denied any involvement in the incident. He accused Nagori, who is also contesting from PS-107 on the PPP ticket, of using such tactics to get him disqualified from contesting the elections. "I know Jawed is behind this conspiracy," he told The Express Tribune. "They know we have a strong chance of winning the seat, which is why Nagori is trying to pull such stunts."